Fugitive Prince

Fugitive Prince

By March Madness

Buck's first day on the Dyea beach was like a nightmare. Every hour was filled with shock and surprise. He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial. No lazy, sun-kissed life was this, with nothing to do but load and be bored. Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment's safety. All was confusion and action, and every moment life and limb were in peril. There was imperative need to be constantly alert; for these dogs and men were not town dogs and me, They were savages, all of the, who knew no law but the law of club and fang.

The Call Of The Wild

, Jack London

Chapter X

From age 9--or, from the month before his 10^th birthday, when Harry was shocked from his world and torn apart from his parents and thrust into four days of absolute confusion before landing in a home that was too small, too weird with too many memories and a man who claimed to be his godfather but who Harry hadn't seen for his entire childhood--

From that age on, Harry had slowly shut up into himself. Sirius was frightening not only because he was an Auror, something Harry had learned to fear and hate, but also because he was an annoyingly happy one. He always tried to get Harry to get excited or at least understand the "call of duty" he felt, but every time Harry would freeze up on him.

At first, Sirius had blamed Harry's shyness on the lack of previous interaction between the two and had constantly pressed for a closer friendship, not knowing that his very nature was terrifying to Harry, that the title he kept trying to explain was something that Harry despised. Then again, the first few months in the same house had been stressful not only because of Harry's fear of Aurors but also because someone had leaked the prophecy to the Prophet and it seemed like every day, another reporter was trying to stick his/her nose through the door for a peek at Leo.

Remus was a free-lance slayer, slaying things from vampires to ghouls to boggarts to over-friendly dementors. Those first few months after the war was officially over, he was hired every day, sometimes getting his schedule booked back for months as Voldemort's dark creature army disbanded and started attacking the wizarding populations of their own free will. He was, therefore, unable to stop the rising tensions between godfather and godson and when he came back, Harry had already withdrawn too far back into himself with all of Sirius's unintentional jabs.

Ever since then, ever since Remus had come back and seen the devastating results of Sirius's "getting-to-know-you," he'd become the medium for the two. When they fought, he'd solve the problems.

Leo was also a sort of medium but only because Harry had the infuriating belief that he couldn't fight in front of his brother. If Leo caught him angry, that anger would disappear. And while this could be a good thing, Leo's appearance would also silence Harry when he was in the middle of finally just coming out, just telling what so tormented him that he had alienated himself from the whole world save for his brother.

At first, when Remus came back, he'd thought it was because of all the publicity Leo was getting, that Harry was somehow jealous. But he soon found that Harry hated being the center of attention, hated having people focused on him as though he thought it was somehow dangerous for him to be getting too much notice and he almost welcomed the disregard the reporters gave him.

"Cool scar kid," as one reporter said. "Now get out of the way. We're here for yur brother, not some regular bit like yurself."

As Remus had told Sirius before, Harry never got over his parents' death. He was there when his mother died, was within hearing distance when his father was killed, and even was the one to set their bodies to burn in a makeshift funeral pyre. Not that anyone knew that. The story that went around was that Harry had tried to run but had been struck down by an unknown curse, a curse that had given him that scar. Then, while his parents lay dead and he lay dying, Leo had called upon the fantastic powers only he possessed, forever banishing the Dark Lord's presence.

But, as previously stated, Harry had withdrawn into himself and what he saw as Leo's dismissal of him was the last straw that fell, destroying Harry's bridge to the outside world. When he got to Hogwarts, he came as a student totally unprepared for interaction, one still rolling from the tragic events forced on him, and as one totally primed to reject any other human contact.

Unfortunately, the world wasn't content with letting Harry be--fate wasn't content with letting the real second son alone. If he wanted to reject human contact, human contact would soon engulf him in a year that turned his world upside down.

*

"This is fun!" Leo shrieked, running up and down the street a few feet ahead of his brother. People were stopping to stare at him and he loved the attention. "You should'a gone to school a long time ago, Harry!"

He was talking about the shopping they'd come for, buying the last things Harry needed but hadn't already received from his parents, like a cauldron or an owl. His broom had been returned once the Ministry managed to erase the Dark Mark from his old apartment along with everything else that Harry had left behind. No one yet knew, save for the mysterious Fletcher and Figg, that Harry had ever gone back to the apartment, as Harry had completely forgotten it in his retelling to Remus. When asked to explain the books Sirius's had found in his room, Harry had replied that he'd borrowed them from the many books sent to Leo, begging for Leo's autograph. Luckily, Sirius never looked inside, never noticed James's sprawling signature or Lily's neat handwriting.

Everyone already knew that Harry had a wand, knew ever since that day in the wand shop with all those people staring at him. They passed his scar off as unusual but not spectacular, possibly the result of a dark curse that hit him the night his brother saved the world. Anything more they might have noticed about him was forgotten in Leo's presence, and it wasn't like Harry exactly welcomed the reporters' inspections.

"Yea, that's what I said," Sirius joked, waving as a camera caught his picture. "Go to school, Harry, go have fun. Just go. But no one wanted to listen to me."

Remus groaned into his hands, shaking his head. "You're as bad as Leo is," he accused. Sirius could only laugh and shrug helplessly in defeat. "How about you go take Leo and walk around for a bit? I'll go with Harry to get the rest of his stuff."

Sirius nodded and Leo, hearing the plan, all but dragged his uncle off for ice cream. Remus put a knowing hand on Harry's shoulder when the teenager looked up with a grateful smile as the reporters and other curious folk all followed after the departing duo.

"Thanks."

"No problem. I noticed you were feeling slightly uncomfortably."

Harry shrugged as they headed towards Eeylops's Owl Emporium. "I don't take well on pictures," he answered truthfully, delighting Remus with his open attitude. "Besides, they just cut me out anyway."

Remus was about to say something but Harry then pointed out an owl. "She looks good."

It was a beautiful owl. Snowy white all the way save for the tips of each wing, which looked dyed with the darkest black. Her eyes were black as well, stony in their reflections, giving Remus a twisted depiction of himself when he looked into them. As soon as Harry pointed to her, she twisted her head about to stare at him and Remus, standing beside Harry, could almost feel a shock pass between the two.

Harry shook his head, like he was trying to clear his mind, then made his way inside with Remus following.

"Ah, yes, you're the brother of the great Leonard, aren't you," the owner said in greeting when Harry called to him. He gave Harry a thorough look-over and snorted. "Not much to look at, huh? Too skinny. Not good when you're buying pets." He gestured to his own bulging belly. "Them owls, they know better to attack me 'cause I'm too big for 'em. But a skinny little runt like you... Now your brother, he looks like he'll be a good trainer someday. 'Course, that's to be expected, with him being the savior and all-"

"Sir, kindly keep your comments to yourself," Remus spat out through grit teeth but Harry didn't look the slightest bit phased.

"How much is that owl up there," he asked, pointing towards the one he wanted. "The white one with black wingtips."

"I know what you're talking about, you don't need to point," the owner barked. "Pointing scares the birds." None of the owls looked the slightest bit concerned with Harry's pointing but he lowered his hand anyway. "Not that I expected you to know that, you're not the second son and all." He kept up his grumbling as he walked up to the front and looked over the owl Harry wanted, lifting its wings as she squawked with indignity, trying to escape his cold hands.

When he was finished, the owl dealer barked out a laugh. "Figures you'd chose this owl. She's been sitting here for four years doing nothing and is probably too old to even carry anything. I bet your mum kept all your brains when she had you, saving them for your brother. Not that he needs them. The way I hear it, he already gots his spells down, counting the days 'til he goes to Hogwarts. What a riot that'll cause. They'll probably have to skip him up, just to keep up with him-"

"I'd still like to buy her, sir," Harry cut in. Remus was fuming beside him, too angry to open his mouth lest he lost control of what he said. The owner glared at Harry.

"Disrespectful, can't even wait for a man to stop talking before you cut in," he grumbled but grabbed the owl from her perch, scooting her to her cage and roughly informing Harry of her cost. Wordlessly, Harry pulled out the said amount and the two exchanged hands. "If she dies, it ain't my fault," the man called out as Harry started to leave. "She's too old to be put in contract. You'll have to buy another one."

Harry barely tipped his head in acknowledgement before he shut the door behind him. Immediately, Remus exploded.

"How could you let him talk to you like that?" he yelled. "You should've cut him right off, told him to shut up, just left--not sit quietly as he badmouthed you, not buy an owl that he also insults. You should straight back in there and-"

"And what?" Harry shot back, anger glinting in his green eyes. "Make you feel better my picking a fight with him? Make myself feel better by going in there and knocking down all his owls, getting up in his face, lowering myself to his standards?" He seemed surprised with himself and backed down, reaching a hand through the cage to stroke his owl. "It was only talk, Remus, and talk can't hurt me."

The werewolf was speechless but Harry didn't gloat or say a word more about the subject, heading down to the cauldron shop to pick up his required cauldron. "Why'd you pick that owl?" he asked after a moment, not knowing what else to say.

Harry shrugged. "I really don't know. She just... spoke to me." The owl rattled her feathers and gave a low "wah." Harry smiled slightly and opened the cage, letting her fly out and sit on his shoulder. "I bet her name's Hedwig."

"Hedwig?" Harry went inside. Remus shook his head and followed.

*

"Surely you can't believe him, Albus," Minerva stated bluntly, looking up from the owled parchment in her hands. She waved the letter around, aggravated. "It's preposterous! A child, doing advanced magic with no training?" She shook her head severely. "I refuse to believe it."

Dumbledore, sitting in his office, let a slight smile show on his face as his old hands massaged the feathers of the phoenix in his lap. "It is quite remarkable," he admitted softly as his headmistress threw the letter onto his desk, "but I don't think that Sirius has a reason to lie."

"Well, of course he does," the witch replied, stern as her manner. "His godson has just missed the first four years of school. We could very well refuse to admit him with that kind of absence. Black is making up stories, trying to convince us that Potter will be able to keep up with his classmates but with that kind of lag, no child could!" Her eyes narrowed. "We've no reason to believe him, at any rate. When he was a student here, he always came up with the most ridiculous stories."

"The point we must consider," Dumbledore started in the same soft manner, "is the fact that, whether true or not, this report on Harry's power is based on some evidence. Even if the boy cannot do all the things that Sirius claims he can, he must be able to do at least some of them. And it is undoubtedly that Harry was given some training. Sirius and Remus have always reported that the boy frequently studies from old school books."

Minerva sniffed, glaring at the letter. It had never been in her nature to let any student, of her house or otherwise, get away with anything. It didn't matter to her if the student she caught wandering the halls at night was a Slytherin or a Gryffindor--that student received fair punishment for rule breaking. Now, a child who had cut his first four years of his Hogwarts education (for that was what she thought of Harry's absences) seemed to think that those absences wouldn't affect his performance, seemed to think that he could get away with missing four years and starting on his fifth. Was she the only one to realize that Harry Potter had the markings of a spoiled brat? Not even Draco Malfoy thought in such terms, thought so lightly of his Hogwarts education.

The letter was the most absurd thing she'd ever read. A child performing wandless magic? Becoming an animagus? Talking to snakes--that part of the letter admittedly frightened her, but angered her even more. Who would claim such ability in these times? Sirius' owl went on to state several more fantastic achievements but truly, what child could do those things? Silently, she fumed, especially when she recognized the expression on the headmaster's face. Harry Potter would be admitted into Hogwarts with all speed, admitted into his fifth year most likely with no consideration of the professors who would have to slow down their lessons to teach a student so behind his peers.

'Well,' she thought to herself angrily, 'I won't be taken in by Potter, even if the headmaster is.' She nodded in silent emphasis. If the boy thought that his all his professors would give no second thought to his missed years, that they would be like the headmaster and accept him with open arms, he would soon find out how mistaken he was.

'By Merlin!' Her own thoughts echoed in her mind, making her go pale. 'Keep this up and I'll be as bad as Severus!'

*

"Ah, Master Potter," the wizard bowed low. "It is my distinct honor to meet you, sir. Never before did I ever think-"

"Master Potter, would you mind if I paid for your ice cream, sir?"

"Can I get your autograph, Mr. Potter sir?"

"Move it, witch! It's my turn in line--oh, oh my, it's, it's really you! Can I shake your hand?"

Leo calmly sat at his booth, smiling charmingly and shaking hands, occasionally giving an answer to someone or posing for the camera, playing out his fame as the line to his booth grew longer and longer. Across from him, Sirius was chuckling.

"You remind me exactly like your father," he whispered and Leo leaned in the hear him. Cameras flashed, imprinting their images forever. "He used to be really popular when he was younger. His family was really important and everywhere they went people would take pictures, just like now. He loved it, just like you do."

"Really?" Leo's eyes lit up, fascinated. Harry rarely spoke of their dead parents. "Were there pictures there, when he died?"

Sirius smiled painfully at the innocent question but shook his head. "No. After awhile, your dad got tired of all the pictures, and after awhile they left him alone. Like how they leave Harry alone."

"Oh." Leo leaned back into his seat, hiding his frown by eating another spoonful of ice cream. At the front desk, the manager and his sons were advertising the ice cream brand. "If Leonard Potter eats this ice cream, what are you waiting for?"

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of this," Leo confided. "And I don't think they'll ever get tired of me."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "That might change in the future, when you're older like Harry."

But Leo shook his head. "Never," he answered strongly. "Never." He went back to posing for the pictures and shaking hands, smiling his royal smile and capturing the hearts of wizards and witches everywhere.

"Come one, come all and eat at the very same ice cream parlor that Leonard Potter dines. For a special rate, you can even sit in the booth next to him!"

*

They met up again and Leo yawned, asking what time they were going to bed.

"We'll be spending the evening in the Leaky Cauldron. That all right with you?" Sirius answered and Leo nodded, not really caring as long as he got a comfortable pillow to lie on. Sirius turned to Remus and chuckled, "Knowing the people around here, we'll get the best room of the lot."

The group of four walked down Diagon Alley, turning to the pub that served as walkway to the muggle world as well as hotel for sleepy wizards. Behind them, wizarding cameras flashed and people cheered, waving frantically to Leo, the emblem of all that was light.

"You guys go on in, I just want to talk with Harry for a second," Sirius discharged when they reached the pub's door, and Remus, rolling his eyes, ushered Leo in where yet another crowd had grown, waiting for him to enter. As soon as the werewolf entered the door, the manager (who'd obviously been hoping for them to enter) ordered his house elves to pick up the group's luggage and take it to the best room in the house. When they came towards Harry, he politely if firmly refused to let go of his cauldron and all the school supplies within it.

"Harry, can I talk to you?" the Auror asked, taking a seat on the curb and patting the empty spot beside him.

"You already are," Harry replied dryly but he went and sat down on the curb next to his godfather, carefully setting the cauldron beside him.

"Look, I know we haven't exactly been the best of friends, but I want you to know that it's not because I've never tried. I really, really want to be your friend, Harry, but you don't want me to be." Harry made a face at the ground but remained quiet, playing with some loose pavement between his fingers. Sirius sighed and started again. "Ok, how about this: Harry, I want you to have a good time at Hogwarts. Can you promise me you will?"

He got a reaction. Harry looked up, blinking several times in surprise. "Promise you to have a good time?" he repeated, face blank but voice registering skepticism. "How can I have a good time if I don't even want to go?"

"Leo wants you to go and have a good time," Sirius pressed but Harry's eyes narrowed, recognizing Sirius' all-too-familiar tactic: get Harry to do anything just by mentioning Leo's name. Pressing his lips firmly, Harry silently vowed not to let himself fall for it.

Sirius pushed on, hoping to get it into Harry's mind how much he cared. "I know you don't want to go, don't want to leave Leo, but you need to have some fun. You've wasted too much of your life already-"

"Wasted?" Harry objected, standing up angrily. "What do you mean by that?"

"Harry..." Sirius floundered. "That... that didn't come out right. Come on, sit back down." The teen's jaw stiffened but Harry sat back down. "What I meant was you, er, missed a great opportunity to learn at the best school there is! Back in my day, Hogwarts was as much a place to have fun as to learn! You could meet your best friends, worst enemies, future loves..." He sighed in lovely remembrance and slowly shook his head. "I keep telling you but it never gets through your head: Hogwarts is fun, and as soon as you get there, you'll find out just that."

Harry swallowed, staring down into the street. The light was just beginning to fade beyond the sky and, if he looked at it just right, he could see why many people used to think the sun revolved around the world. He could just understand why people thought themselves so important that the idea of the earth being the center of the universe was so universal. But if he really wanted to understand why people had once believed such idiotic beliefs, he only needed to look at the people around him who, hundreds more years advanced, still thought of themselves as all-important.

Didn't Sirius see? Didn't he understand? Harry's hands clenched white, drowning out his godfather's toning sermon. Harry had already seen how bad the world was. What kind of world would let two innocent people die at the hand of a madman? What kind of world would allow death to visit with such rampant numbers? Wasn't there some supreme design were the wicked would be punished and the just would rule? Even now as he sat there, watching the sun sink beyond view, he could see the aristocratic families walking down the street with their lips turned into a sneer, looking here and there as if the entire block was under their control. What design would let people like that live in control when others suffered?

'I can't leave,' he thought to himself for the hundredth time that day, mind barely registering the fact that Sirius had stopped talking. 'What would happen to Leo? What if Voldemort isn't dead and is just waiting for me to leave?'

"Harry?" Sirius turned to stare at his absorbed godson but was given no reaction.

'But Leo wants me to leave,' his mind argued, the statement echoing hollowly. 'Not even Leo wants you anymore. Sirius is always going on about how he wants you to leave and now Leo agrees with him.' His jaw clenched and upper body stiffened. 'Doesn't he need me anymore?'

'You're too old,' his mind laughed, a sarcastic figure in the background. 'And Leo has all the attention he needs.' Pain was barely felt as his nails, clenched tightly into his palms, broke through the surface of his hands, leaving four shallow, crescent-shaped wounds dripping out blood.

"Harry?" Sirius prompted again, getting slightly worried. "Are you listening to me?" Harry grunted and Sirius smiled, losing all tension and worry. "All right. As I was saying..."

Harry looked down at his bleeding hands with something akin to wonder, quickly hiding the bleeding palms in his robes before Sirius noted. 'Just get over yourself,' his mind whispered, some degrees louder than Sirius and completely blocking out the older man's voice. Harry could see his godfather's mouth moving but it was only his mind's whispers he heard. 'Leo has either been turned by that bloody Auror or else really wants you gone, and either way you lose.'

'That's true,' Harry nodded. Sirius, thinking Harry was agreeing with him, smiled brightly and kept going.

'So just do this:' the voice went on to say, 'go to Hogwarts. Go to Hogwarts and find your own glory. They've rejected you; turn around and reject them.'

'I can't do that to Leo,' Harry objected, eyes narrowing at the mental conflict. 'He's my brother-'

'He's as good as turned,' the voice replied airily, a tone of voice that sent shivers up and down Harry's spine. 'He no longer cares for you; he wants you to leave. Remember what happened the last time you risked everything for someone you cared about, a person who only turned on you.' Harry shivered again, Goosebumps crawling up and down his skin.

'Go to Hogwarts.'

"Go to Hogwarts," Sirius was saying and for a moment, Harry could only stare at him. Noting his godson's attention, Sirius repeated, "That's right; go to Hogwarts and smile and show everyone that you're important, too. Just as important as Leo is."

Harry swallowed, ill omens walking through his head.

"Harry..." Sirius sighed and gently rested a hand on his godson's back, not sensing the deep tension there. "I'm your godfather and while that might not mean a lot to you, it's the most important title I've got. If I had to chose between everything I am, had to chose one thing to call myself... I'd probably pick 'handsome stud muffin,' but aside from that-"

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Aside from that," Sirius said again, realizing that Harry wasn't going to respond to humor, "I'd chose godfather, because that's the one thing that's kept me going all these years. Whenever you made me so mad that I felt like going outside and snapping you're broom--oh yes," he interrupted himself, seeing the look on Harry's face, "I felt like that plenty of times. But whenever I did, I'd always say to myself, 'Hey, you can't do that. You're his godfather, and what kind of godfather would do that?'"

'What kind of godfather are you?' Harry felt like shouting. 'Can't you see I don't want to go? That the only reason I'm going is because Leo wants me to and because a little voice in my head just happens to make sense? What would you say to that?'

'He'd probably consider you mad,' the voice replied dryly. 'Don't give him any reason to think otherwise. Act as though his speech has truly helped you, has truly changed you mind.'

"All right Sirius." Harry leaned onto his elbows as one hand absently trailed a pattern in the dirt. "I'll go. Sorry I've been such a bother."

"Bother?" Sirius snorted in laughter and he roughly ruffled Harry's hair. "You were an outright pain at times, but that's all right because no matter what, you're still you and if I had to chose between being your godfather all these years and being on a island somewhere, being the insanely rich bachelor I always wanted to be, I'd chose-"

"Harry?" A woman stopped midway in the Leaky Cauldron's front door, holding it open in such a way that Harry could hear all the people practically mooning over his brother. She took a step closer, closing the door. "Harry, is that you dear?"

"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry tilted his head then stood in surprise. "Hello."

Sirius got up, too, wiping the dirt off himself and looking at the woman strangely. "Molly Weasley?"

"Oh, look at you dear," Molly almost squealed, going forward to grab Harry by the shoulders and spinning him around. "All grown up! And so handsome!" Harry blushed and looked down. "Why, I can remember the day like it was yesterday, you and your little brother walking around this very street, looking lost and so alone-"

"Sirius, this is Mrs. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley, this is my godfather, Sirius Black," Harry introduced, trying to get out of Mrs. Weasley's hug.

"How do you do?" Molly asked politely, studying Sirius like she'd seen him before. She frowned and looked at him questioningly and he nodded somberly. Satisfied, she went back to her examination of Harry, pointing out things she'd noticed, things that had changed.

Before long, a man stuck his head out the front door, Mr. Weasley. "Molly, what are you waiting for?"

"Look, Arthur," Molly turned with a smile. "It's Harry. Remember that little boy who came and stayed with us a night."

"Harry?" Arthur was out there beside his wife, gaping. "Oh my, good to see you son, good to see you."

"You've still got that brother of yours, don't you?" Molly asked. "Leo, was it?"

"Leo... Leo..." Arthur suddenly snapped his fingers. "That's right: the child who defeated You-Know-Who. Quite a feat for a baby." He looked around. "You, uh, you didn't happen to bring him with you, did you?"

"Actually, Leo's inside," Sirius answered. At his voice, Arthur also paused and gave the Auror a solid look over.

"You mean that mob inside, that's all for him?" Molly asked, aghast, glancing back to the door as if she was ready to tackle them all herself.

"He likes it, really," Sirius said with a smile, nodding deferentially to Arthur.

"Let's get inside before the boys get worried," Arthur urged his wife. He noticed the robes Harry was carrying in his cauldron. "Say, you're not going to Hogwarts this year, are you?" Harry nodded guiltily but the door opened so he didn't hear anything else of the conversation.

Once inside, Molly directed them to a corner away from the "mob" as she called them, a table being saved by her seven children. Sirius was overwhelmed when each introduced themselves, having heard of the Weasleys before but never really meeting them until now.

"Blimey Harry, you're just now showing up?" Ron asked, a mouth full of food. Molly scolded him but was ignored. "You know you missed a whole bunch! Hope you're in Gryffindor, like I am. Best house of the lot."

Fred and George, however, seemed a bit more excited about his brother. "I kinda forgot about him, you know, until I read the paper a couple years back," Fred admitted. "Then I was like, say, that little tyke sounds just like the kid who came over."

"Course, they didn't say a thing about you, Harry, and that's why we didn't notice right away," George continued once Fred stopped to gulp some drink down.

"It wasn't until they mentioned that the Boy-Who-Lived, as some weirdos are calling him, had a brother with a weird scar. That's pretty much all they said about you but I said to George, 'Don't that sound like that kid, that Harry kid who had the thing on his forehead?'" He paused and leaned across the table. "You still got it, right? That scar?"

Harry dutifully lifted up his bangs and the whole table stopped to stare for a moment before slipping back to their own conversations.

He could see Sirius and the adult Weasleys just a few seats down, talking together in hushed voice and glancing about often as if wary of eavesdroppers. Sirius caught Harry looking and frowned slightly before going back to the conversation but the frown was one Harry knew well. Often times old Aurors would come over and just discuss years gone by and while Sirius often invited Harry to listen (thinking it would increase the boy's respect of the old magical officers) he would sometimes frown that same way when the Auror went into too much depth, provided too much detail. It was his business frown, the frown he probably wore everyday as an Auror. It was the warning frown that gave Harry and whoever else just enough time to correct themselves before he was forced to action.

Many serving in Azkaban had discarded that frown.

Harry looked away.

"They've all moved out," Ginny answered when Harry asked about her older brothers, blushing when he looked at her. "When, when you came, Charlie and Bill had already moved out but were just coming to visit but now, Percy's gone too."

"Oh." He searched for an appropriate response while the others just looked at him and finally asked, "Are they doing all right?"

Ginny nodded. "Yea. Charlie's working with dragons over in Romania and Bill's still a curse-breaker for Gringotts, but Percy's working in the Ministry now, with dad."

"He hasn't gotten any better since you last came," Ron took over the conversation. "Worse, actually."

"What's Hogwarts like?" Harry asked when the table quieted down.

Fred and George exchanged looks and grinned at Harry. "Oh, you'll love it," they promised. "We'll take you under our wing and all. Won't have to worry about a thing."

But by the looks on Ron and Ginny's faces, that wasn't exactly something to be happy about.

"Oh, Harry, I totally forgot," Sirius interrupted, having abruptly ended his conversation with the Weasley parent. He smiled down at his godson but Harry squirmed uncomfortably, reminded yet again of the real person behind the friendly mask and getting a flashback of a day many years ago. Could Sirius have possibly been one of those Aurors standing as witness in that mockery of a trial that day in the forest? "Remus wanted me to take you down to the Apothecary, to finish picking up your school supplies."

"Don't worry, I can go get it myself," Harry said quickly, a little too quickly. Sirius looked at him questioningly.

"I'll come with you," Ron volunteered.

"Oh no you won't," Molly denied. "You still have your summer essays to finish. All of you. Up to the room, now." She stopped to smile at Harry, a smile ruined by the slight hesitation he saw in her eyes. "It's been nice seeing you again, Harry. You come to the Burrow to visit, sometime." Then she and her husband headed up the stairs to their rooms, her voice chiding them the entire way.

"It's not far," Harry went on, haggling with Sirius, trying his best to get away from the fiendish Auror. "Besides, Leo looks tired. You should get him to bed."

Sirius looked torn between his godson and his sleepy nephew who looked like he was trying to keep his eyes opened and nodded. "All right, but you be careful. It's getting late. Go, get what you need, then come back, all right?"

Harry was already out the door.

*

"Well, what do we have here?"

"Looks like some fun."

"Fun? Nah, he's too pathetic to put up a good fight. But we'll beat him up anyway."

Severus rolled his eyes as he walked towards the Apothecary, hearing these words spat out of the mouths of three wanna-be dark wizards, corning against fourth boy and slowly pushing him down into Knockturn Alley, where no one would stop their "game." The targeted teen didn't look like he was much for their games, but neither did he look threatened.

"What's going on?" Severus asked, grabbing their attention. His eyes narrowed in recognition. "Has the Hufflepuff House adopted a new rule for losing points before school even starts?"

The boys, a trio of rowdy Hufflepuffs who were graduating that year, flushed and fumbled for an answer. One of them, the bravest, sneered and stated, "You can't do that."

Severus drew himself up to his full imposing height, face darkening into the deadly serious used to frighten first year. "I assure you," he replied in cool, crisp tones, "that I most certainly can."

The three flinched instinctively and even the bravest couldn't hold down the professor's stony gaze. They ran off. Severus snorted and looked down at the teen before him. "Are you naturally that stupid or do you blame your idiocy on your mother?"

The boy flinched but didn't answer, keeping his face looking the other way.

"Deaf or mute?" Severus wondered aloud, brushing along beside the child. "Or is it deaf and mute? Perhaps you are neither but simply too stupid to form a correct answer to a question."

Something about the boy's stance, changing from politely quiet to silently fuming made him stop and pause. Severus glared down. "What's your name, boy?"

"It's Harry Potter," and the face turned up, shocking Severus with his glittering green eyes. The eyes quickly took in Severus's robes and he added, "Are you a Hogwarts professor?" Somehow, the question came out sounding like an accusation.

Severus nearly jumped and nodded slowly, eyes narrowing as he took in this boy's appearance. Tall and thin, with Lily's brilliant eyes but James's face, tanned to a color an adventurer would be proud of; altogether a face he'd expected to see four years before but hadn't really prepared himself to see. "You look like your father."

"So everyone seems to tell me," came Harry' stoic reply and he walked by Severus, heading into the potion ingredients store.

"I'll take it that you're starting at Hogwarts this year," Severus stated, following him in. Harry nodded impassively, carefully picking out his needed ingredients with skillful fingers. "What possessed you to come this year, but miss the other four?"

"My business is my own," Harry replied, not outrightly rude but definitely on the lines. "But the reason is that my brother asked me not to come sooner."

"So your brother, the famed Boy-Who-Lived and prophesied savior, has given you permission to leave this year?"

"My brother told me to go, yes, so I'm going."

"What, are you his slave?" Severus spat out. "What kind of imbecile would skip four years of education rather than go against a brother's request?" His eyes narrowed at a sudden thought. "I do hope that you aren't expecting special treatment, Mister Potter. Your brother's reputation will be of no help to you at Hogwarts."

"Of course I'm not, professor," the teenage student answered, brushing off the words and bringing his items up to the front to be paid for and ignoring the fuming professor behind him. The sheer humility the boy gave in answer to Severus's biting words threw the professor off long enough for Harry to pay for his items and pack them up.

"Do you care about a word I've said?" Severus asked at last, seeing James Potter's face but Lily's attitude in the boy before him and unable to reconcile the difference.

"No, but I'm glad to know at least one professor, at any rate," Harry replied quickly, brushing away anything else Severus was about to say. He looked outside. "I'll see you at Hogwarts, professor."

"It's Snape, Professor Snape." Harry nodded in acknowledgement and walked away.

'Strange boy,' Severus thought to himself as he walked away, thinking of what a child like that would become in Hogwarts. 'Slytherin, perhaps?' The thought made him to smile in dark victory. If Potter's son became a Slytherin, that infernal James Potter would be turning in his grave come the start of the year.

*

"I told you I could do it," Sirius bragged, leaning back with the satisfaction of a milk-fed cat in his seat. His arms crossed behind his head and he was the picture of bliss.

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked with a laugh at his friend's position. Unwilling to resist the temptation, he picked up a shirt from his suitcase and threw it at the oblivious Auror, laughing harder at his friend's outcry.

"I talked to Harry and he agreed to go to school and try his best," Sirius explained, picking the shirt from his face and examining it. He looked up. "Hey, isn't this my shirt?"

"No!" Remus protested, reaching over to grab the shirt. "It's mine but you always steal it."

"Oh yeah..."

"So what happened?" Remus asked, finishing with his unpacking. The shirts were crumpled, the pants wrinkled, and all his robes looked dangerously close to falling off their hangers. Sighing, Remus dutifully lifted his wand and set the troubles to rest.

"Well--hey!" A misguided shirt 'accidentally' slammed into Sirius' face. The Auror ripped it off and threw it back at his grinning friend. "Knock it off or I won't tell you what happened." Remus chuckled but magically set the shirt back to its rightful position. "Like I was saying, I just set Harry down and told him what I expected from him."

"And he just listened to you?" Remus asked with an arched eyebrow. "Right. Somehow, I find that hard to believe. It'd be easier knowing that as soon as you started blabbering, he either started shouting with you or else drifted off."

But Sirius shook his head. "No, this time I really reached him. I said," and he huffed up his chest importantly, "'Harry, you may not want to go, but you gotta. You may not want to go, but you hafta. You may not want to go, but Leo said so and-'" His chest deflated and he rolled his eyes.

"Always back to Leo, huh," Remus sympathized. "Really, that's the only way he'll listen to you at any rate. But you're serious that he didn't do anything else? Just sat there and listened?" Finished with his clothing, he took a seat on his chair and drank from the cool water left behind by house elves.

"Just sat and listened. Sometimes, I'd think he'd drifted off but he'd nod-"

"Nod, like he was about to fall asleep or-"

"Remus!" Sirius shouted. "I'm trying to tell you that our talk went well!"

The werewolf raised his hands defensively. "All right, all right. So Harry listened--and you're sure he listened."

"He also said sorry for being a bother-"

"Now you're lying," Remus stated, pointing an accusing finger at his friend.

Sirius threw his hands in the air. "Get me some truth serum and hear the words again: he said he was sorry for being a bother. That's about when Molly Weasley shows up and interrupts us." He looked over at his friend. "You remember Molly from the Order, right?"

"Shh!" Remus hushed, looking around as if another was in the room unwelcome, then shook his head disapprovingly at the Auror. "You know we're not supposed to talk about that!"

Sirius rolled his eyes but gave up. "Fine. I'm just saying-"

"Whenever you're 'just saying' something, you end up either getting yourself in trouble or getting me in jail."

"Now that was just a one time mistake."

*

A train whistled in the distance and Sirius shouted, "Come on! Where're going to be late!" He was struggling to run fast enough while pulling along Harry's trolley.

"No we're not," Remus panted alongside him, carrying Leo who wouldn't have been able to keep up any other way.

Harry didn't say anything, running along with the older two, trying not to swing his owl's cage too much. Hedwig, sensing their urgency, flapped her wings and tried to keep balance. To Harry, it seemed like the bird dealer was very much mistaken about the owl; she was as alive as any hatchling.

"There!" Sirius finally panted as the four stopped to catch their breaths after running through the muggle-packed train station. He looked around and said. "We better go now-"

"What, all at once? The muggles will notice for sure," Remus objected.

"We've got no time! And we're wasting it by arguing here," Sirius pointed out and Remus scowled but nodded. "On the count of three. One, two-"

Sirius took off with a laugh, leaving Harry and Remus running to catch up with him. "You know I never say-" His tease was cut off when he ran through the barrier.

Harry and Remus ran in seconds later and Sirius finished. "Three."

"Rascal!" Remus shouted and made to kick him.

"Harry!" Ron was waving at him from a window. "Better hurry, we're bout to leave!"

Remus and Sirius grabbed his bags and roughly threw them along with the others and Harry climbed onto the train just as a swarm of reporters who had obviously been waiting for this moment came rushing towards Leo.

The door shut moments after him, reminding him of just how lucky he was, and Harry hurried to an empty cart, looking out the window to catch a glimpse of his family before the train moved out of sight. Remus had his hand up, shielding his eyes from the sun and once he saw Harry, he yanked Sirius's arm and pointed. The two waved wildly.

Harry waved back and Leo caught on to where his uncles were waving to and waved goodbye to Harry as well, a smile on his face as he played the farewell off for the many cameras.

The train pulled around a corner and the platform disappeared so Harry slumped back into his seat, closing the window.

He'd shut the door to his booth so when it opened again, Harry's eyes snapped open.

"Oh, I didn't know anyone was in here," a pale blond boy started. "Usually they aren't because they know this is my cart."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Harry replied honestly. "But since you seem to be alone, I believe there'll be enough room in here for the both of us."

The boy thought about this for a moment then shrugged and sat down. "The only reason I'm alone is because my friends are up a few carts, bothering the first years. I'm Malfoy, by the way. Draco Malfoy."

"Harry Potter," Harry shook hands.

"Potter? You wouldn't happen to be the brother of Leonard, would you?" Draco asked immediately. "The one with the scar?"

Harry pulled up his bangs and nodded.

Draco looked slightly disbelieving but shrugged. "So, have you transferred to Hogwarts this year, then? I know you're as old as I am."

"No, I'm just starting."

"What?"

Harry shrugged. "This will be my first year at school."

"You're kidding?" Draco's face darkened slightly. "You act as though you're not worried at all," he exclaimed. "Like missing four years of school is nothing. Do you think that just because your brother's so smart, you don't need to learn? Or do you just plan on taking all five years at once?"

This time Harry' face darkened. "I'm not worried about that," he answered calmly, hoping that this Draco kid would get the hint.

"Right, I suppose that all that publicity your brother gets makes you feel special, doesn't it. I bet you think that by just mentioning his name, you'll get whatever you want, you'll get to run the school." His gray eyes narrowed, stormy as their color.

Harry didn't answer, turning away to the window and letting the teen continuing his rant.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"No," Harry replied sharply. "Because all you're doing is repeating yourself." He could feel himself beginning to anger. "After listening to you for just a few minutes, I could probably tune you out for the rest of the day and not miss a thing."

"Why you--you can't talk to me like that!" Draco called aloud. "I'm a Malfoy!"

"So I heard," Harry said coolly, standing up. "I'll leave now, seeing as this is your cart and all."