Summertime
Harry got to the platform of 9 ¾ and gladly saw Remus waiting for him. He grinned and waved over to his 'mother', but not before bidding goodbye to his friends.
"And remember Harry, we have the galleons now so if anything happens you just have to call." Hermione repeated.
"Yes, 'Mione, I know. Goodbye," he then proceeded to hug his friends, old and new. "Now Luna, don't forget to write. I'll gladly reply to any letters you send." Harry declared. Draco smirked and rolled his eyes along with Hermione.
"Of course, Harry. Goodbye." Luna replied. After all farewells were said, Harry went over and hugged Remus. The larger, tired man hugged Harry with all his might, and then he let go and inspected Harry for any signs of distress.
"How were your last few days Harry? Are you okay? What did Snape have to say to you?" Remus interrogated.
"I'm fine, really. Professor Snape just told me to contact him if anything got bad this summer. Apparently between his own observations and Draco's he figured out what's happening at home. He also mentioned I should tell you, which I already did, so no worries there." Harry finished nonchalantly.
Remus smiled but a scowl quickly appeared. "That reminds me, I want to have a word with that so-called family of yours. Where do you usually meet them?" He asked.
"If they actually show, we meet somewhere on the other side of the barrier." Harry answered.
"What do you mean if the actually show? Are they not coming?" Remus enquired.
"Well, when Draco came to retrieve me, he may have told the Dursleys off. Not to mention he said I wouldn't be coming back if it were up to him. I don't know if they think he has the authority to say so, but I have a feeling they won't be pleased either way." Harry explained. Remus' nostrils flared and his brow furrowed.
"Well then, I'll have to take you back. What is your address?" Remus asked far too calmly.
"Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey." Harry answered. Remus nodded and they walked to a spot where it would be safe to Apparate. When they got there, Remus took a calming deep breath. Then, he took another one. After that, they walked up to the door of Number Four, Privet Drive and knocked.
"Now Harry, I think I will need you to stay here for a moment while I talk to your relatives." Remus instructed. Suddenly, a horse-faced woman answered the door.
"Hello, Petunia" Remus greeted with a deadly scowl. Her eyes widened and she tried to shut the door. Remus caught it with his hand and let himself in. "Interesting home, and I thought you would be living without one judging by the way you dress Harry." He continued.
"Get out! Get out and don't let Vernon know you're here, freak! "She squealed.
"Oh! That must be 'Uncle Vernon' then, yeah? Oh, yes bring him here. I have more than a few words for him." Remus spat.
"What is going on here? Who the heck are you?" Vernon, who had come to see what the commotion was, turned to the door and saw Harry on the porch. "Freak! What are you doing here? You're not welcome! Leave this instant." The minute the word freak came out of the pig shaped man's mouth, Remus hit his breaking point. Remus marched up to the man, grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the wall.
"Who the HECK are you calling freak? You are the disgrace to this world, not Harry. You filth! Now sit, so we can get a couple things straightened out." Remus seethed with anger. He accioed two chairs and stuck the two Dursleys in them so that they could not move. "Alright, let's get one thing straight. Harry has no other choice but to be in this household. You are not doing him a 'favor' by letting him live here. You don't have a choice either. Do you even realize who he is in our world? He is a savior. No one would be here right now if it weren't for him, especially not muggles like you. He is not 'lucky' that you give him your son's left-over clothing. He should not be 'grateful' that you feed him every few couple of days, particularly when you don't even give him a full meal.
"The fact that he didn't know his name was Harry Potter until he went to primary school is specifically distasteful, and that he didn't know who or what his parents were is beyond scandalous. Truthfully, I'm not even going to go there. He is not a freak, you are. Petunia, have you ever stopped to think what your parents would have thought of his treatment? He. Is. Your. Nephew. Not some orphan you're giving charity to. And what you give him is not charity, it is torture.
"Perhaps you think it's 'right' and 'justified' what you do to him, but could you imagine doing that to your own son? This isn't a random child, this is someone else's son. Not to mention your sister's son. I know you hated her and anything to do with her, but that was only because she was a witch. Imagine if the circumstances were different and Harry was not a wizard. If Lily was not a witch. How would you have treated your orphaned nephew? Hm? How you treat this child is not right. It's not justified. I am not expecting you to treat him better than your son, but locking Harry up in a cupboard and not feeding him for days on end is not even treating Harry like a human being. How are you setting a good example for Dudley?
"Don't even get me started on how you treat him like your 'servant.' You know what we would call the person who does the work Harry does in our world? A house elf. They are one of the most disrespected creatures in the wizarding world. How do you think the leader of our world would feel if you were treating his most beloved savior that way? Hm? Oh, well, let's see. He would put you on trial. A wizard trial. If you were found guilty, you would go to Azkaban. Do you know what is guarding Azkaban?" Petunia went pale. Remus had put a silencing charm on them so that he was not interrupted. He took the spell off Petunia. "You know, don't you?" He asked.
"Dementors." She whispered in horror.
"Exactly. Do you understand that Vernon? Do you see the terror on your wife's face? It won't matter if your muggles or not, they will send you straight to Azkaban not second questions asked when they see what has been done to Harry. When I leave Harry here, in your custody, I expect to hear he is happy, not to mention unharmed. I don't care if you lock Harry in his room upstairs, not under the cupboard, but I will see to it that he's eating full meals, not cans of cold soup. Do I make myself clear? I have no choice but to leave him here. And he must stay for his own safety. But if I see him at Kings Cross and he has one scratch, you will rue the day you ever touched a hair on Harry's head." He finished. Harry stood in the background not sure whether to smile or laugh at the sight of his Uncle's face. Remus sighed and turned around to help Harry move his things upstairs. When they reached Harry's room, Remus frowned.
"This is your room? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but what do you say we touch it up a bit? Hm?" Remus smiled for the first time in about half an hour. Harry chuckled
"Sure. What did you have in mind?" Harry asked. Remus muttered a spell and in the blink of an eye Harry's room was red and gold. He muttered another spell and the bed was replaced with a much fluffier version with a red and gold comforter. He expanded the desk slightly and put a small expansion charm on the room. He also put a disillusionment charm on the room so, to the Dursleys, it would look as it did before.
"There, better?" Remus inquired. Harry grinned and hugged the lycanthrope. "Well, I should probably let the muggles go. If they even touch you, Harry, don't refrain from writing me and/or Snape. Also keep those friends of yours close. It will help. If they aren't giving you enough to eat, I can send something. Alright?" Harry smiled
"Of course, Remus. I wish you didn't have to go. Well, I wish I didn't have to stay, but I'll be fine." Harry sighed and gave Remus one last hug.
"Bye, Kiddo." Remus went down stairs and released the Dursleys from their state. Harry could tell because they were having a fit. Uncle Vernon came upstairs and threatened Harry. If he did anything, the man would kick him to the curb.
The next couple of weeks went okay. Harry was locked in his room, but was given actual meals. Finally, his birthday rolled around, and for once he couldn't wait. When midnight came, the packages rolled in.
First, he opened the Broom Cleaning Kit from Hermione. Harry chuckled as he realized she probably only did that to keep the timelines straight. The next present he opened was from Draco, who had sent a birthday cake, a couple of self-resizing outfits, and a fourth-year charms book that had belonged to his mother. The charms book was from Professor Snape, of course, but Draco said in his note that 'Uncle Sev' did not want to be named as the possessor of the book. Harry smiled and opened a present from Remus. Of course, there was at least a pound of chocolate, but also a text book for defense. Harry opened the book to find it had belonged to his father and a note from Remus.
Harry,
I think this may be useful in this year Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It may or may not be your text book this year. *wink wink* I hope your birthday is better than any before and that this starts to make up for some missed years. Believe it or not I have eleven years' worth of stuffed animals and toys I had bought in hopes of being able to send them to you one day. Perhaps they can be used for a later generation. Happy Birthday Prongslet,
Remus
Harry had tears in his eyes as he paged through the worn hardcover. On almost every page were conversations between James Potter and whomever was closest to him. Most of the transcripts were about a certain redhead who was 'very distracting today' and to 'pay attention, James, I'm trying to take notes'. Harry smiled.
He was also thankful to note there was no "Monster book of Monsters" this time from Hagrid. Although Harry loved the oaf, he was a bit loony. Speaking of, Harry was very happy when he got a present from Luna as well. It was a painting she had made of Harry, Draco, and Hermione. He was sad to notice that Luna wasn't in it but he understood why. This was the best Birthday Harry had ever had, even counting the times before.
During the summer, he talked to Draco, Hermione, or Luna every day, and was always pleasantly surprised with a "Good morning, Harry" daily. When he talked to Draco, he also ended up talking to Severys, as well. It was almost the highlight of his week when his Aunt walked in on him hissing at his wrist. Harry was writing to Remus at least every other day and talked to him about an assortment of odd things. 'Aunt' Marge came and everything happened the same way. Although, Harry considered trying to threaten the Dursleys, but thought against it.
When the day of that dreadful dinner came, Harry shouldn't have been surprised to hear them trash talk his parents. He should have helped it. He could have helped it. However, he didn't. The next thing he knew, Marge was being blown up like a balloon, Harry rushed upstairs to grab his things. Soon, he was sitting on that dang curve again.