I do not own Harry Potter. Only any OC that may or may not appear in my stories.

Hello guys Badger here. Sorry it's been a while. There's been a few reasons for my short absence. The main one being I just lost interest for a while, as I turned focus on other projects. During my short hiatus, I decided that for the time being, instead of trying to keep some kind of schedule, I'm just going to write whenever I have time, or feel like writing. It will just help a lot, to balance everything I'm currently doing, be it Uni related or just personal work. And it will help with stress too.

So updates may be slow, but they will be made. All I ask, is patience.

But I'm back now and chapters for multiple stories are currently half finished, so they'll be finished at some point. This is only finished first because it was easier. This remastered chapter is relatively short. At least compared to the previous couple of chapters, but still longer then the original. But I still think you'll enjoy it.

But that's all for now. Read on, enjoy and I will see you at the end.

…

Chapter 4

A Cure For Boils

…

If Harry thought the dungeon corridors were the only dark and dreary place within the walls of Hogwarts Castle, then he wasn't prepared for the Potions Classroom. The classroom was just as bad, if not worse. There was a dark atmosphere within the room itself. The cauldrons on the desks, vials and flasks containing strange, bubbling liquid, shelves and cabinets containing all sorts of different potion's ingredients. Some of which looked like they were alive and wriggling around in their jars, like maggots. It made the room look like it was from one of the old horror movies that Harry would occasionally see the Dursleys watching, whilst he was busy doing the chores that had been forced upon him. It made Harry feel a chill go up his spine, and it wasn't just because of the ice-cold temperatures within the room.

Harry tried to shake off those chills, as James nudged him towards one of the seats within the front row. Harry ignored the glares that Ron Weasley was giving him, at the back of the class, as he took his seat, where Harry noticed that Neville Longbottom seemed to be looking around, unsure on where to seat, and offered him the seat besides him and James. The Gryffindor boy seemed initially surprised by the offer, but accepted it none the less, with a small, shy, smile, as Professor Snape made his way to the front of the classroom, his cloak billowing behind him.

"I will say this now and never again, as I loathe to repeat myself, that I do not want to see any silly incantations, or foolish wand waving, within this class…" Snape spoke, with a smooth drawl, his tone one of warning as he stood at his desk overlooking the students, "I'm sure that many of you will not see potion brewing as a form of magic, however, I will tell you that you are wrong…potion brewing can be more complex than even the most arduous spells, but with the right mentorship and mental capacity, it's a subject that can be tricky, yet satisfying to master…within these walls, I could teach you how to bewitch the mind, and ensnare the sense…I could teach you to bottle fame, brew glory…even put a stopper, in death…"

As Snape spoke, he looked across the classroom, at each and every student where each of them were looking back at him, with varying degrees of interest. Draco Malfoy, for one, was sporting a small smirk on his face, no doubt thinking of what he would be able to do, with such knowledge at his disposal. Snape hoped he wouldn't need to keep a close eye on the boy. Meanwhile, at the front of the classroom, the bushy haired girl from Gryffindor, Hermione Granger, was leaning forward in her seat, with a demanding look on her face, desperate and eager to learn.

As he looked across the room, his gaze came across Harry. A small feeling of guilt rushed through his body, being reminded of the conversation he had with Dumbledore, before he arrived at his classroom, as he looked at the boy with the emerald eyes of Lily he remembered so fondly from his childhood, gazed back at him. It made his jaw tighten slightly, as he tried to remove his conversation with Dumbledore out of his mind.

"Potter…" He spoke, in a smooth tone, "Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel into an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry was caught off guard for a brief moment, not expecting the sudden question like he was being quizzed. He tried to remember what he had read in his potions book the other day, when he decided to study a little bit, in hopes that he won't be behind everyone else in the classroom. As he thought, Hermione had raised her hand, the instant Snapes question left his lips, a pleading look on her face, but Snape chose to ignore her for now, though the Potions Professor's eye did twitch a little in annoyance at the young girl.

"The umm…Draught of Living Death sir?" Harry replied, after a moment,

"Correct, well done…" Snape nodded, "Answer me this, Mr Potter, where you look, if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"

Once again, Hermione raised her hand the instant Snape had finished asking his question, though this time she raised her hand even higher then before, causing Snape to bite the inside of his cheek, to restrain himself. However, if the bushy haired girl continued, he was going to snap. Snape kept his eyes on Harry who thought for a moment.

"Inside the stomach of a goat sir?" Harry said

"Correct again Mr Potter…" Snape said, so far impressed, "Finally Mr Potter, please tell me the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

This time, Hermione had actually stood up out of her seat, her chair almost falling over, as she raised her hand high in the air. That was the final straw for Snape, no longer putting up with it.

"SIT DOWN!" He snapped, causing the girl to quickly drop back onto her seat, putting her hand down in fear, as Snape turned back to Harry once again, "Well, Mr Potter?"

"I…I don't know sir…" Harry said, looking down, "I…I don't think I got to that part in the potions book…"

"Hmm, no matter…" Snape said, "I don't expect you to know everything on your first day, Mr Potter…still, take 10 points for Slytherin, 5 for each correct answer…"

Snape had wanted to test Harry slightly. Since the Sorting, he had been curious about which of his parents the boy would take after, his mother or his father. From the day Snape first met Lily Potter, she had been a very smart individual, and was very passionate about learning. She would spend a lot of her time in a book of some kind. Then there was James Potter. Despite being an annoying prankster and a nuisance for a lot of the Hogwarts staff during their time at Hogwarts, even then despite his hatred for the boy, Snape had to admit James Potter was very smart when he focused on his schoolwork and was particularly gifted with Transfiguration, the same way Snape was gifted with Potions.

By testing Harry with some quick and easy questions, it would allow him to see if he'd be more like his mother or his father and, so far, the boy seemed to be leaning more towards Lily. Though it was too early to say for certain, though he imagined after a few weeks, he'd get a better idea as to who Harry was as a person. For now, however, Snape chose to push that aside for now, as he turned around, removing his wand and waving it slightly, where instructions appeared on the blackboards, written in white chalk.

"For your first potions lesson, you will attempt to make a Cure for Boils…" Snape said, as he turned back to the class, "A relatively simple potion, but don't let that fool you…simple it may be, but it will cause painful side effects, should you make it wrong…the ingredients you need are listed alongside the instructions, and you will find them on the shelves…now get to work."

One by one the students stood up from their seats, and made their way over to the shelves, to find and grab the necessary ingredients listed on the blackboards. As he wasn't entirely sure what the ingredients looked like, Harry merely followed James' lead, taking the same ingredients he did. Now that he got a closer look at some of the jars, Harry felt a bit grossed out from the ingredients inside. How anyone decided that they belonged in potions, was beyond him. Harry shivered once again, shaking those uncomfortable feelings off, as he made his way back to his desk, where James helped Harry with his potion brewing, making sure he followed the instructions correctly. James also helped Neville too, who looked very nervous throughout the whole process.

Harry thought it was a good thing that Neville was being helped, as the boy had almost put the wrong ingredient into his cauldron, if it wasn't for James grabbing his wrist before he could. Harry didn't know what would happen if Neville had put it in, however, judging from Snapes earlier warnings, it wouldn't have been anything good.

All of a sudden, at the back of the classroom, as they were making their potions there was a loud explosion, causing a lot of students to scream out loud from the sudden noise. Harry jumped in fright, before turning around to see what had happened, where he saw Ron at the back at the class, a look of shock on his face and boils covering his face and hands, with his cauldron melted on his desk. Seamus Finnegan, who was standing besides Ron, was looking at the red headed boy in equal shock, whilst also trying not to laugh. Snape, however, did not find if humorous as he stormed over to their desks, a furious look on his face.

"Weasley! You placed the porcupine quills into the cauldron, without taking it off of the fire first, didn't you?! First you attempt to attack a fellow student, then you fail to follow simple basic instructions, I think that's deserving of 10 more points from Gryffindor!" Snape snapped, before turning to Seamus, "Mr Finnegan, escort Mr Weasley to the infirmary, perhaps spending some time under Madam Pomfrey's care, will sharpen the boys' wits!"

Seamus didn't say anything, merely nodding, as he led Ron out of the classroom, who merely glared at Snape, before escorting the boy to the Hogwarts infirmary. Once the two had left the classroom, the lesson went by as normal, with Snape walking around the classroom, keeping a beady eye on what each student was doing, so another incident didn't happen. It also allowed Snape to see which students would excel in his class, and which students will need extra study. Once all the students had finished brewing their potions, Snape went from desk to desk, to examine the quality of each one. Harry held his breath slightly, when the Potions Professor stopped at his cauldron and examined the contents.

"Good work Mr Potter" He said, "Despite your potion being a bit too thick, the colour is still perfect…for a First Years first potions lesson, it is brilliant work…take another 10 points for Slytherin…"

Harry let out a small sigh of relief, pleased that he didn't screw up, as Snape moved onto James' cauldron. The Slytherin stood straight, waiting for Snapes verdict, as the Potions Professor examined the contents thoroughly, before he nodded seemingly satisfied with what he saw.

"Good work to you, as well Mr Badger" Snape said, "Despite the colouration of the potion being a bit off, and the potion itself being runnier then usual, it is still great quality and will get the job done…take 10 points to Slytherin for you as well…"

"Thank you, sir" James said, respectfully

Snape merely nodded, before moving onto the remaining students, each one with potions of varying quality. Once he had thoroughly examined the quality of each potion, Snape removed his wand, as he stood behind his desk, giving it a wave where a glass vial appeared on the desks of each student.

"I want you all to pour a sample of your potion into the vial, put your name on the label, and leave the vial on my desk" He instructed, "Your potions will then be properly tested and graded, which you will receive in your next potions lesson…that is all for your first potions lesson, well done, you've mostly managed to not disappoint me…class dismissed, oh and Mr Potter, I'd like to have a word with you before you leave…"

Harry swallowed nervously, wondering if he had done something wrong, as he collected a sample of his potion within his vial and left it on Snapes desk, with his name on it, along with the rest of the students. Whilst the rest of the students started making their way out of the classroom, Harry remained by Snapes desk, where James patted Harry's shoulder reassuringly saying he'll wait outside, before he left too. Harry watched him leave, turning back to Snape when the door closed behind the final student, unnerved by the look in the Potions Professors eyes.

"Harry…may I call you Harry?" Snape asked, his look softening, receiving a nod in response, "Don't worry, you aren't in any trouble…I merely wanted to have a quick word, to tell you that, I used to be friends with your mother…"

"R…Really?" Harry asked, perking up, "You were?"

"Yes, I was the one to tell her everything about magic, when we were children…" Snape said, with a small smile on his face, before it disappeared again, "We were best friends, however, I done something stupid, and said somethings to her I shouldn't have done which drove her away, and ended the friendship we had…I was never able to properly apologise to her for my actions…but, I just want to tell you that, if you ever need anything or you just want to know more about your parents, I'll be here to talk…"

"Oh, that's…thank you sir…" Harry said, smiling gently

"You're welcome, Harry" Snape said, "Now off you go, lunch is about to start, and I'm sure you're hungry…"

Harry nodded, with a small smile on his face, as he made his way out of the classroom. He had always wanted to find out more about his parents, when Hagrid told him about how they actually died in Diagon Alley. Now he had an opportunity to do so. The smile was still on his face, as he left the classroom.

…

Snape sighed, as he sat down at his desk, watching Harry leave his classroom. His hands clenched into fists, as Dumbledore's words echoed in his head once more. Snape despised the Dumbledore, for what the Headmaster planned to do with the son of Lily and James Potter. Snape wanted to help the boy, but he was only a Potions Professor, not a miracle worker. Despite his knowledge and intelligence, even he wouldn't be able to remove the vile piece of magic embedded within Harry's scar. There was nothing he could do.

All Snape could do was watch over Harry during his time at Hogwarts, making sure the boy was safe within Slytherin House and didn't fall down a dark path like Voldemort himself. All the while, Dumbledore plays his manipulative game of chess, to make sure Harry makes the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Voldemort for good. For the so-called Greater Good.

"Damn you Albus!" Snape growled, slamming his hand on his desk, causing several vials to rattle and shake, "Merlin damns you!"

…

Harry still had a smile on his face, as he left Snapes classroom. He found James waiting for him in the corridor, picking at his nails, as he leaned against the wall. The door closing behind Harry made James look up, alerting him of Harry's presence.

"Judging by that smile on your face, I take it you aren't in trouble?" James asked, pushing himself off of the wall

"Professor Snape knew my mother…" Harry nodded, "He said they were friends when they were students here at Hogwarts…he wanted to let me know that I can always go to him, if I need anything…"

"Really?" James asked, looking thoughtful for a moment, "Hmm…that could be helpful…"

"Helpful for what?" Harry asked

"Well, if Professor Snape knew your mother, he probably would've known about your aunt and uncle…" James replied, "He could help us with their arrest…"

"You really think so?" Harry asked, perking up

"Probably…just give me some time…" James said, "But for now, come on, lunch is starting and I'm hungry…"

Harry nodded, as he walked alongside James, as they made their way down the dungeon corridors, towards the Great Hall for lunch. However, they only made it to the stairs that connected the dungeons to the rest of the castle, where they were stopped by a scene. Draco Malfoy had a girl backed up against a wall. She had platinum blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. Harry didn't know who she was, besides the fact that she was in Slytherin like the rest of them. Judging from the look in Draco's eyes, he seemed to be furious about something. Harry didn't know what was going on, but he watched as James immediately made his way towards them.

"Listen here Greengrass!" Malfoy growled, as he kept the girl pinned against the wall, "I will not be spoken to like that…especially by you…my father is already negotiating a Betrothal Contract with the Greengrass family as we speak, so you better watch your tone…I will not have the future Mrs Malfoy speaking to me in such a manner!"

"Oh, please Malfoy, don't make me laugh!" The girl scoffed in a cold tone, unfazed by Draco holding her against the wall, "My father would never agree to such a contract with the Malfoy's…we know why someone like you would negotiate a Betrothal Contract…the Greengrass fortune!"

"That is a lie!" Draco snapped, pushing her further against the wall, "You dare to say such things…you're going to have to learn some respect Greengrass or I'll…"

Draco was cut off, when he felt the tip of someone's wand press roughly against the back of his neck, quickly followed by the voice of the last person he wanted to come across.

"No Malfoy…" James said, in a calm manner, "If anyone here has to learn some respect, it would be you…especially towards a lady…didn't your family teach you proper Pureblood etiquette?"

"This doesn't concern you, Badger!" Draco said, with pompous arrogance, but a fearful look could be seen in his eyes, "This is between Greengrass and myself…you are unimportant to me, so go and bother someone else!"

James didn't say anything as his eyes narrowed, pressing his wand harder against the back of Draco's neck, digging into his flesh and close to drawing blood, causing the Malfoy heir to flinch, as he felt the tip of the wand heat up, a spell seemingly on the tip of James' tongue.

"Wrong choice of words Malfoy…so I would choose your next ones carefully, especially with the situation you're in…" James said, a dangerous tone in his voice, "You're currently alone in the dungeons, without your pet apes…where are they by the way, did they see an all you can eat buffet?"

Draco swallowed nervously, his grip on Daphne loosening slightly, as he thought about what James said. Without Crabbe and Goyle, or anyone else along with him, Draco was defenceless, especially with a wand currently pressing into his neck, which was getting hotter. Plus, James a Badger, a family known for their magical capabilities, especially with combat magic and the Dark Arts. Draco prided himself on having a wide range of spells in his arsenal, from reading the countless spell books in the Malfoy library, but he could only imagine what spells James had up his sleeves. And the Malfoy heir didn't want to find out either, so he removed his wands from Daphne, where he felt James' wand move away from his neck.

Draco kept his hands up, as he slowly turned around, to face James properly who still held his wand in his hand, as if ready for any possible retaliation from the Malfoy heir. Harry, meanwhile, was standing off to the side looking back and forth between the two, watching the confrontation with a nervous look on his face, worried about a potential fight breaking out. Draco glared at James for a moment, his jaw clenched, evidently wanting to say something. Instead, he thought better of it and stormed off, muttering under his breath. James watched, his wand still in hand, until Draco was out of sight before he turned to the girl who Draco had pinned against the wall.

"Are you okay there Daphne?" James asked, as he pocketed his wand

"Of course I am…" She replied, brushing herself off, speaking in a smooth voice as if James was ridiculous for thinking otherwise, "You didn't have to help out you know, I was perfectly capable of handling him myself…"

"True…but we both know he's more afraid of me…" James said, with a small smirk.

Daphne's lips curled up into a small smirk, not even trying to deny his claims, before she noticed Harry standing off to the side and looked at James, expectingly. James looked to Harry, then back to Daphne, a small look of confusion on his face. He looked back and forth between the two a few more times, before realisation finally came to him.

"Oh right, sorry…" James said, as he turned to Harry, "Harry, this is Daphne Greengrass, eldest daughter of Ignatius Greengrass and the Heiress to the Greengrass fortune…Daphne, as I'm sure you know, this is Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, Saviour of the Wizarding World, and whatever else they like to call him these days…"

"Hi…" Harry said, ignoring James' antics, "So…how do you two know each other?"

"We've spoken a lot on occasion" Daphne replied, "Specifically at parties and gatherings from the many upstanding Pureblooded families…we've always got on, though we aren't really friends…we're more like acquaintances…"

"So she says…" James says to Harry, with a smirk, "Oh and don't worry about the ice-cold persona she likes to put on…it's merely a defence mechanism…"

"Which, annoyingly never worked on you…" Daphne replied, with a dramatic sigh

"That's because I thaw the ice inside you" James said, jokingly

"Only in your dreams Badger…" Daphne said, rolling her eyes, "Now, as fun as this was, I have a letter to send…"

"Of course," James nodded, as she started walking away, "See you around Greengrass"

"Not if I see you first, Badger…" She replied, over her shoulder, as she disappeared up the stairs

"She was…interesting…" Harry commented, as she disappeared from sight

"Yeah, you can say that again" James replied, with a smile, "Daphne is actually a pretty nice person, when you get to know her…if you get a chance, talk to her…just don't get on her bad side…"

"Why is that?" Harry asked

The smile on James' face disappeared, as he looked at Harry with a look he couldn't place. After a second, James shivered and started walking away silently, not saying a word. Needless to say, Harry was definitely scared of the girl now.

…

Across the country within the Ministry of Magic, the Head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones made her way back to the office, after witnessing the induction of the newest recruits of the Auror training program. Seeing the quality of the new trainees left her more then a little concerned. Every year she felt like the quality of their new Aurors got worse and worse and these new recruits didn't seem any better. Maybe they will prove her wrong, but Amelia wasn't holding her breath any time soon.

As she entered her office, she was immediately greeted by the sight of an owl perched on her desk, with a letter in its beak. She immediately recognised the owl. It was the owl she bought for her niece when taking her to buy her school supplies for a year. Despite telling her niece to write to her whenever she wishes, before she boarded the Hogwarts Express, Amelia couldn't help but wonder why Susan would be sending her a letter so soon. She gently removed the letter from the owl's beak, as she sat down in her chair. As soon as she opened the letter, she immediately knew her niece hadn't written it. She knew Susan's handwriting, and this wasn't it. It made her even more curious.

Dear Amelia Bones,

I understand that your, not doubt, busy within the Ministry. However, as you're the Head of the DMLE, I have news to inform you about. Urgent news. I'm sure you know of Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Well, distressingly, it seems that Harry Potter has suffered from child abuse, at the hands of his Muggle relatives. And seemingly has been for years. This isn't a suspicion. I've seen the scars on his back personally. And he told me they beat and starved him, for no other reason than the fact that they hated his parents and anything involving magic. Which includes himself.

As you're the Head of the DMLE, I'm sure you know how illegal child abuse is, within the Wizarding World. Especially towards magical children. So, I am writing to you, in hopes that Harry's relatives will be brought before the Wizengamot and put on trial, to ensure that this abuse is brought to an end.

Your sincerely,

James Badger, Heir to the Badger Family and Fortune.

After reading through the letter, Amelia practically jumped out of her chair, gripping the parchment tightly in anger as she reread it multiple times. She couldn't believe what she had been informed. Child abuse towards a magical child. And not just any child, but Harry Potter. The son of James and Lily Potter, and the Boy-Who-Lived, who many view as the saviour of the Wizarding World. If news of this got out, the public will be demanding for heads to roll, especially of those within the Ministry, as they were the ones to tell the public that Harry Potter was safe, during their official announcement of the defeat of You-Know-Who.

Regardless, she wasn't going to let this continue any longer. She'll write a letter in response soon, but first she needed to inform the Minister of this injustice, so a trial can be properly scheduled.

She didn't know who, but someone was responsible for this injustice. She felt it in her gut.

…

And that's chapter 4 of this remaster done. What did you think? Good? Bad? Feel free to let me know.

There isn't much difference in this remastered chapter as not much happened in the original. The only major differences, is the inclusion of Snape's brief hatred towards Dumbledore and Amelia Bones receiving the letter, informing her of Harry's abuse.

As in this remaster, I'm trying to make Snape be more skeptical and disloyal towards Dumbledore and his decisions, I felt like it was important to add a moment here, to properly show his stance within this story. Something else that's new in this chapter, is Amelia Bones receiving the letter. In the original, this scene never happened, but I felt like it was important to include, to make the story feel like its in an expanded world and not just mostly self contained in Hogwarts and following the same characters, like in the original. It may seem pointless to some, but it's the little details that make a story feel expansive. I hope that makes sense.

Now. Before I go, I want to have a serious talk for a moment. Regarding people who ask for updates in my PM's. I understand your intentions are good ones. But please, do not do that. As a creator, who does this for fun, having people in my PM's asking and begging for updates quickly makes it feel like a job with deadlines to make customers happy. And it can be stressful. I know that's not your intentions, but that's what it feels like. And as a University student, already trying my hardest to meet deadlines and create artworks that my teachers love enough for me to pass, I do not need any more stress. So please, as I said earlier at the beginning, please be patient. Updates will come. All I ask is patience. I don't think that's wrong of me to ask.

But that's all for now. Serious talk over. I hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time, in whatever story I see you in.

Badger Out.

….