Chapter Text
"Petunia, please reconsider."
"No, I," she paused. "I can't allow him to come back." She rubbed her hands on her legs repeatedly. Don't think of Lily; don't think of Lily; don't think of Lily.
"But he's—" The man across from her started to say, leaning forward a little. She couldn't let him try and convince her to bring him back. She couldn't
"I HAVE TO THINK OF MY FAMILY!" Petunia yelled, turning away from the old man in her kitchen. Why did she let herself be convinced this was a good idea? To think she could reason with someone of her kind.
The man's tea stilled in boney hands. "Isn't he family? Don't you want your sister's son to be safe?" The old man asked softly, looking at her with such sad eyes behind his half moon spectacles.
"He's my sister's son, yes, but I have to think of my own. He attacked my sister-in-law, just blew her up like it was nothing, and stormed out." She clutched the tea cup a little tighter, remembering the way Marge slowly inflated and just floated away into the sky.
"But no harm came of it; she is safe and doesn't remember a thing. Harry is young and does not have full control of his magic; he didn't mean any harm."
"And if he does? What am I supposed to do? He could hurt my son, or any of us." She paused, fixing her hair, trying to control her breathing. She needed to compose herself; she was the hostess, and she wouldn't break down. Not now. "I know he didn't mean to, and that's what makes it worse. What if—what if they're playing around roughhousing and suddenly my son is in pieces or missing or turned into furniture?" Petunia cried. Talking faster the longer she spoke, clutching her hair in her hand, very near hysteria. She stood and started pacing; she'd wear the floor out, she knew. "What if he does something that can't be undone?"
She knew it was pointless, but she needed him to understand she was being serious. That no matter the promise she made, this crossed a line. She couldn't risk her son or husband just for her nephew. Even if he was the last of Lily she had.
"Where would he go? He is safer here. The blood protections-" Petunia gave up; maybe if he saw. If he saw what they did, not even he would let a child stay here. She marched to the stairs and yanked open the cupboard, the doors slammed against the wall. Closing her eyes and preparing to be hexed or cursed or something equally awful to happen.
"How was he safe here? We hurt him so, so much. And it didn't work; he's still—he's still…" She grabbed her face and sobbed. She couldn't do this. It still hurts to think of his eyes in pain, her eyes.
Magic was what got Lily killed. And they couldn't get rid of it, no matter how hard they tried. No matter how much they hurt him. He would always be magic, and that made him dangerous.
"You—I cannot believe you kept him in a cupboard? Why? Why would you do something like that?"
"You know why." Why wasn't he leaving? Hadn't this been enough? Should she show him the other stuff, offer her memories. Anything to get the boy out of the house, away from here. "We thought we could make him normal, less freakish. Get rid of his magic if he wasn't healthy."
"That's not how magic works; you can't get rid of it!" His voice rose only a little but was still so horribly calm. "He is your nephew. I would have thought—I had thought you would treat him better, if I had known that—yes, you're right, he will not be coming back."
"Good," she said, standing on shaky legs, "then you should leave before my husband returns from work." The chair scraping on tiles and the front door clicking shut were the only sounds he made as he left. It was only then that she allowed small tears to fall freely down her cheeks. Only then that she grieved for a life she couldn't give her nephew, a life she couldn't as long as he carried that curse through his veins.
She was betraying her sister, or maybe she had already done that with how she treated the child before. Either way, she couldn't bear to think about it any longer.
She wiped her face and stumbled to her liquor cabinet. She needed a hard brandy; she grabbed a glass and a full bottle; she would drink until she forgot her name, her life, and her sister.
Harry ran or tried to anyway. Apparently it was hard to run away from your professor turned werewolf. Hermione had run in the other direction to help get Buckbeak to a safe area, so here he is trying and failing to get out of the way.
And then he stumbled over a tree root. "Great." Harry cursed under his breath, brushing dirt off his knees as he stood up and tried to climb up the tree. He wouldn't get far on foot with how close Lupin was getting, and he needed to get away.
Lupin was hunting him. He was the prey, and he knew Lupin wouldn't just let him go. He grabbed at Harry, claws dug into the skin on his leg, scratching and tearing at him. Lupin managed to pull him from the lower branch; he barely made it to, and then he felt it.
A searing hot pain in his shoulder. What was it with creatures and this damn shoulder?
Teeth clamped down, biting into him and not letting go. The more Harry fought, the deeper his teeth dug, ripping at his flesh. Fuck it hurt.
He kicked and squirmed, muttered random spells hoping to hit the wolf, and almost blasted the tree he was still clinging to. But Lupin wouldn't let go. And it hurts. It Hurts.
And then Lupin was yowling; a yelp mixed howl and had him losing his grip, making him drop Harry and run. Harry felt faint, vision blurring, but he still could see a faint outline of his friend, and her wand pointed where the werewolf had been.
"Oh my, Harry, are you alright? That's a stupid question; of course you aren't. Merlin, here, hold your hand like this." Hermione had come over and started fussing. Harry would have laughed if he didn't want to fall face first in the dirt.
"I'm fine, swear." Harry mumbled, hoping to get her to loosen up. They still needed to rescue Sirius and get Buckbeak off school grounds. "Come on, we need to find Sirius."
"Harry, you are in no shape to do anything. You just got bit by a werewolf. On the full moon. Maybe we should bring you back. Or find some other way to get to Sirius. You nearly died!" Hermione shouted the last bit when Harry tried to shake off her concern again.
"I've got time to heal; Sirius doesn't have any time at all. We need to help him before they cart him off to Azkaban. Or worse, give him the kiss right here in the castle." Harry straightened and made an attempt to stand, only to find himself being held down.
Hermione sighed, "Alright, but you are getting those wounds checked when we get back. And we stop if you show any sign you aren't okay. Do you understand?"
Harry nodded and made to get up. Only to fall back onto the tree and grimace. Merlin, his leg was worse than he thought.
"See. You aren't fine. Come on, please; you can't help if you're dead." She added more pressure to his shoulder.
"And I can't have a godfather if his soul gets sucked out. I'll be fine, I swear. I just need to get balanced, is all. Come on, help me up. I might need your help to walk though." Harry mumbled the last part. His leg was shredded; it would heal fine, he was sure. Merlin, so many new scars for his collection.
"Professor Snape, please come in." Dumbledore said as he popped a Sherbet lemon in his mouth and gestured a bony hand over to the dish. "Sherbet lemon?"
Snape sneered at the offending candies and stayed where he was. "If this is some frivolous social gathering, I have other places to be. It might have escaped your notice, but a certain mongrel is out and about."
Dumbledore sighed, sucking on the sour sweet. "Be that as it may, there is something we need to talk about, involving young Harry, of course." He looked up at Snape and laced his fingers together. "You remember your oath to protect the boy?"
"Of course I remember. What does that have to do with anything?" He drawled, rolling his eyes.
"Harry's relatives no longer wish to house him."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
Dumbledore blinked and then blinked again. "I would have assumed you understood where I was going with this. To put it bluntly, you'll be housing the boy."
"What! Dumbledore, you cannot be serious? I am not allowing that brat in my house."
"No need for that; there would be no place for Harry to transform safely. I will set up a place for you to stay."
"I have not agreed to this Headmaster." Snape snarled, then paused, "What do you mean transform?"
"Surely you saw his wounds; it was quite brutal. Though I suppose your yelling made you partially blind to that. You will need to make more Wolfsbane for him. Remus attacked him last night; you see, it's very unfortunate."
"That wolf attacked a student! Dumbledore, I told you hiring him was a bad idea. Wait, when did he get attacked? He was fine when I brought him there." Dumbledore was surprised to see the slight panic in his eyes, the rest of him still as emotionless as ever. Snape was Dumbledore's first pick, but if he was getting upset and defensive, maybe he wouldn't have to do those weekly check-ups he was planning.
"Before Sirius escaped, according to Miss Granger. Now back to the topic at hand, I should have everything ready for the two of you before the last week of the semester."
"You're saying he was attacked, and I failed to notice the injuries." Snape started pacing, completely ignoring Dumbledore's attempts to get the man back on track and mumbling something about potion times and how long it would take to brew more healing salve and add more ingredients to the wolfsbane. Dumbledore found this highly amusing.
"I think it would do you good to see the extent of his injuries."
"Yes, sir." Snape nodded and spun on his heel to leave.
"Oh, and Severus, keep an eye on him this summer, would you?"
Dumbledore watched as Snape straightened, muttered something under his breath, swirled his robes around him, and walked out the door.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He needed to think, so he grabbed his best thinking sweet, another Sherbet lemon. He couldn't fail Harry again. Even if the blood protection had kept him alive, even if Dumbledore ignored what he learned and Petunia let him go back, Harry wouldn't be mentally sound if he stayed with the Dursleys. And that concerned him.
He knew he was being selfish; he was too close to the boy. But Harry reminded him so much of Tom, and he couldn't make the same mistakes; he couldn't ignore any more cries of help. He lost his sister; he lost Tom; he lost Grindelwald; he wouldn't lose Harry too. Not if he could help it.
He thought for a moment of anyone from the order who had homes with enough security and room for a newly bitten werewolf. The Weasleys wouldn't do; they had several kids, and Severus wouldn't do well with them due to his strained relationship with the family. Others lived too close to muggles or in the city. Probably best it be somewhere hidden. Yes! The Blacks were good with their secrecy; perhaps he could get Sirius to help; Merlin knew he would do anything for his godson, and Harry would have someone else to watch over him and protect him. Yes, that would work. He just needed to get in contact with the man.
Severus wasn't sure what he was looking at. Potter was laughing and playing a game of exploding snap with the youngest Weasley boy as though he were perfectly fine. Severus stayed near the entrance of the door to watch. Why did Dumbledore say he was horribly injured? Potter looked fine. Aside from the bandages, that covered his left arm and leg. He would have thought Potter would be unconscious or refusing to do anything until school ended, trying to gain pity points out of doing school work.
"Ha, I win." Weasley yelled, jumping up before falling back on the bed, groaning. "Bloody hell that hurt."
"Then you shouldn't have stood on a broken foot." Potter said, snickering, shuffling the cards.
"You're one to talk; you walked the grounds on a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder." Weasley grabbed the cards and started dealing them. "Is the bite bothering you? You know what? Don't answer that; I'll tell Madame Pomfrey to look at you anyway, when she comes back."
"Ron I'm fine, what is with you guys?"
"You got bit by a basilisk last year. You didn't tell any of us until you came to the Leaky Cauldron and Fred grabbed your arm. Sorry, I don't believe you when you say you're fine."
Of course, Potter was going to make getting attacked an annual event. How is this boy not dead?
Severus walked up to their beds, glaring down at them. The bandages hid most of the damage. He would need to get Madame Pomfrey to tell him then.
"Mr. Potter, I see you were foolish enough to get yourself bitten by a werewolf." He sneered.
"S'not like I wanted to get mauled, sir." Severus hoped that was an exaggeration.
"Perhaps not. I will be making your required potions; for now take this: a mild wolfsbane substitute, should you find yourself craving the flesh of your peers." He handed Potter a vial of a smoky blue liquid. "Try not to do anything idiotic that makes your stay here longer than necessary."
"Wasn't planning on it." Potter mumbled and stuffed the vial in his robes.
"Good."
Remus had most of his things packed in his suitcase when Harry arrived. Red faced and panting, he must have run all the way from Hagrid's.
“I saw you coming,” Remus said, smiling sadly. He pointed to the map.
“I just saw Hagrid,” said Harry, limping over. “And he said you’d resigned. It’s not
true, is it?”
“I’m afraid it is.” He started opening his desk drawers and taking things out.
“Why?” Harry asked. “The Ministry of Magic doesn't still think you were helping Sirius, do they?”
Remus crossed to the door and closed it behind Harry. It wouldn't be good for people to hear this conversation.
“No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives.” He sighed. "I'm resigning because I attacked you the other night. Harry, I don't expect you to forgive me for that. Ever. How bad is it?"
"Snapes has to start brewing Wolfsbane for me. But I don't blame you; it's not your fault; you just forgot and thought we were in danger."
Why was this kid not yelling at him?
"And that is the problem; I forgot; as a werewolf in a school full of children, I cannot risk forgetting. But it seems that risk has already played out."
“You’re the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we’ve ever had!” Harry pleaded. “Don’t go! Please.”
Remus shook his head and didn’t speak. How did this child not resent him? Why did he want anything to do with someone who ruined his life? He kept on emptying his drawers. Then he said, “From what the headmaster told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night, Harry. Even with a wound from a werewolf. If I’m proud of anything I’ve done this year, it’s how much you’ve learned... Tell me about your Patronus.”
“How d’you know about that?” Harry said, shuffling his feet.
“What else could have driven the dementors back?”
Remus listened as Harry told him what had happened. When Harry finished, he was smiling again. And so Remus told him about Prongs. Remus clenched one of his books tight; he missed Prongs.
He threw his last few books into his case, closed the desk drawers, and turned to look at Harry.
“Here—I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night,” he said, handing Harry back the Invisibility Cloak. “And...” He hesitated—not wanting to get rid of the last piece of his childhood but knowing he couldn't keep it—then held out the Marauder’s Map too. “I am no longer your teacher, so I don’t feel guilty about giving you back this as well. It’s no use to me, and I daresay you, Ron, and Hermione will find uses for it.”
Harry took the map and grinned.
“You told me Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs would’ve wanted to lure me out of school... you said they’d have thought it was funny.”
“And so we would have,” said Remus, reaching down to close his case. “I have no hesitation in saying that James would have been highly disappointed if his son had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle.”
Then there was a knock on the door. Harry shoved the Marauder’s Map and the Invisibility Cloak into his pocket, causing Remus to wince. He hoped he took better care of the map in the future.
The headmaster was waiting by the door, staring at the two. Remus cringed; no doubt Dumbledore thought he was dangerous now.
It was time to go. He wasn't sure where he would stay yet. Maybe he could go stay with Sirius and keep him company; he did miss his friend. He hoped Sirius still loved him. Maybe he could talk to Harry if he ever had any wolf problems. Maybe. If he didn't hate him when he realized how much worse his life would be.
Sirius stared at the doorway in his old family home. He hadn't been here since he was sixteen, when he had left to go live with the Potters.
He laughed a little. Now a Potter was coming to live in the Black family house. Oh, how things have changed.
Sirius sighed, shuffling into the dark house. He still wasn't sure if it was normal to constantly want to kill the muggles his godson called relatives or if it was the prolonged exposure of Dementors.
Either way he did; he couldn't do much about that though; he didn't need a real reason to go back to Azkaban; he just needed to fix this place up for Harry. He would love it. Just needed to get rid of all the bad stuff. Should be able to do that in a week, right? Just remove the portraits and pile the cursed object over there in the corner. Get Kreacher to clean out a room for him.
Right, he'll need a few. Snivellus was staying with them as well. Apparently he wasn't evil. He'll believe when he sees it, though. No way someone messed with the dark arts and turned out fine.
He couldn't use spells just yet; he had to wait until Remus came by. He wasn't sure why he didn't want to use magic without him nearby, but he did. And oh, he just can't wait to see his old friend. His boyfriend… Wait. Did Remus still count him as his boyfriend, or did he find a new partner? Fuck, is his relationship with him ruined? Was this going to be super awkward? Should he hide in his room and never come out? Sirius shook his head, no bad thoughts.
He'll set up the basement for full moons; he'll need that one sooner, only eleven more days until the next one. Oh wow, two wolves, and a dog. What fun. A real pack.
He was practically vibrating as he started to race through the house; he could teach Harry all kinds of things, like the best way to prank his friends and how to cause the most chaos.
Even if he has to put up with Snape, he doubted Snape would try to parent. And it was Sirius's job anyway as his godfather. He could share so many stories about James and Lily and all their adventures.
This was going to be the best summer ever. Though maybe it would be even better if he had killed that stupid rat. Oh well, he would live, maybe. Yeah.
It was going to be a long week. But he would do anything for Harry—even live in this awful house, apparently.