Harry Potter was eating breakfast the morning after he killed a ruddy big snake and saved his best mate's sister from a murderous spirit possessing her. He was distracted and couldn't focus on the conversations around him for a number of reasons. He barely even paid attention to Ron's fanciful retelling of the tale to include more heroics from Ron, he was so distracted.

The first thing distracting Harry that morning was that Madam Pomfrey was supposed to be administering the potions that would restore the people who had been petrified to full mobility. The thought that his best friend, Hermione, would soon be rejoining him was on his mind a lot. He had been shocked and angry when he found out she was petrified. He hadn't known what he should do about it, and had kind of drifted about the school with no direction while she was frozen in the Infirmary.

The next thing distracting Harry was the pain that would still occasionally wrack his body. He occasionally wondered if he should stop being stubborn and go see Madam Pomfrey, but a few things always stopped him from doing so. The first was that healing him would distract her from reviving his friend. The second was that no one had forced him to go get a checkup. He reasoned that if, after hearing how he got bit by a giant snake, they didn't make him go get fixed up, then it shouldn't be a big deal after all. The final thing was he was used to being neglected by authority figures and handling pain on his own. It wasn't anything new.

The last item wasn't something he even consciously thought about. His relatives had beat the idea into him over so many of his formative years that now the idea of asking for help didn't even occur to him. He knew on a fundamental level that asking for help never accomplished anything other than more beatings and humiliations.

If anything, his first couple of years in the wizarding world reinforced that lesson. From Professors that ignored the ongoing crisis when his friends convinced him to go to an authority figure for help, to Headmasters that never made their teachers teach, to actively hateful Professors, or Professors that punished Harry when he was trying to do the right thing. Yes, Harry had learned the lesson well. Authority figures don't help, they hinder. If he wanted something done, he had to do it himself.

The cessation of sound made Harry look up, and he saw the group of students that had been petrified over the year enter the Great Hall. Looking around, Harry didn't see Hermione. Was she alright? Where was she?

Harry left his half eaten breakfast and trudged his way up to the infirmary so he could ask Madam Pomfrey where Hermione was. Upon arriving, he noticed the infirmary was empty except for the nurse.

"Madam Pomfrey? Where is Hermione? Is she alright?" Harry called out, causing the bustling nurse to pause in her tasked to stare at the sight of Harry Potter voluntarily entering her demesne.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger is fine. She was revived along with the other students. I already sent her on to breakfast this morning."

"Oh. Thank you Madam Pomfrey." Harry responded, and was turning away to leave when the pain wracked him again, causing him to stumble and shudder.

Madam Pomfrey's eyes narrowed at the sight of the small boy shuddering in pain. "And I think you won't be going anywhere this morning, Mr. Potter. At least not until I've checked out your health." Without further word, Madam Pomfrey levitated Harry to a bed and started running diagnostic spells on him.

Looking at the results caused Madam Pomfrey's eyes to widen in disbelief. "How are you even alive…?" She whispered before catching herself. She continued in a much more brisk tone. "Mr. Potter, just what happened to you?"

Harry nervously fidgeted under her stern stare for a moment, before he related the tale of how he got bit by a basilisk before killing it, healed by a Phoenix, and saved Ginny from a book that housed the spirit of Voldemort that was possessing Ginny and almost killed her.

Madam Pomfrey stared, aghast, at Harry before kicking into gear. "I can't believe Albus or Minnie didn't send you directly to me. That is absolutely absurd, you almost died! I can't believe they didn't send you to me." She muttered to herself angrily as she grabbed potions for Harry to down.

Harry wasn't sure what to think about the whole situation. He hadn't thought too much of his situation at the time. In fact, Harry wasn't a very introspective individual at that point in his life. Despite having lots of time in his life while locked in his cupboard at the Dursleys, he had spent a lot of that time trying not to think about himself or his situation. It would have just led to him feeling worse if he constantly pondered why his relatives treated him so abysmally.

So the concept of self reflection and learning how to change his self or circumstances rarely occurred to Harry. He had too much practice and habit in just going with the flow, since he had, for so long, been powerless to change anything in his life. Habits formed from a young age were very difficult to change.

But seeing how disturbed Madam Pomfrey was, and hearing her baldly say the words "You almost died" made the words seem to take on a very solid reality and continue to echo in his mind.

Even with the other near death experiences, no one had so baldly told Harry how close to death he was. The professors always seemed to downplay the experience to lessen the impact on him. None of them wanted to have to spend time calming down a hysterical student, so they tried to lessen the blow.

But as Madam Pomfrey was working on him that morning, the words kept echoing in his head. "You almost died".

Harry almost didn't pay attention to Madam Pomfrey's mutterings, but what she said focused his attention again on her.

"With your near death experience, Harry, I finally have the reason I need to ignore Albus' injunction and perform a full diagnostic scan. I told him you were too scrawny and small for your age, but he insisted as your Magical Guardian that he had someone else ensuring your health. Well, now I can bypass that old coot and take care of a problem that I should have been allowed to work on last year."

Harry was flabbergasted. Magical Guardian? Dumbledore kept him from being healed? Just…what?

Madam Pomfrey smiled in triumph at finally being allowed to do her job, before her smile turned to a frown on the results of her scans. Looking at the parchment where the results of her scans were written on, her frown turned into a scowl the more she read.

Harry was getting more nervous the angrier Madam Pomfrey got. She would occasionally glare at parts of Harry's body, causing him to flinch.

Madam Pomfrey seemed to finally come to herself when she saw him flinch, and realized her bedside manner had slipped. She made an effort to smooth out her expression to one of pleasantness.

"Mr. Potter. I'm not angry at you, by any means. I'm angry that so many of your injuries have gone untreated over the years. And a host of other problems. I'm angry at the people who inflicted these injuries on you, and those who prevented you from getting treatment."

Harry relaxed, just a bit. After thinking about her statement, and how she seemed to be on his side caused Harry felt some feelings inside that he was almost entirely unfamiliar with. "So…what now Madam Pomfrey?" Harry tentatively asked.

"What happens now, Mr. Potter, is that I'm going to start your treatment. I will also call in a couple of specialists I know who will take care of a couple of problems that I can't really address. Not my specialty, you see. But we'll have you fixed soon, and better than new. I promise you that."

Harry tentatively nodded, which was enough for Madam Pomfrey to take as Harry's permission to do whatever treatment was needed. She picked up a quill and parchment and swiftly wrote a couple notes before calling for a House Elf to send off the notes to her colleagues. If they agreed to help, they would floo into her infirmary from St. Mungos within the hour.

"That was a House Elf." Harry dumbly stated after Madam Pomfrey sent off her letters. "Hogwarts has House Elves?"

"Indeed, Mr. Potter." Madam Pomfrey briskly answered as she began gathering what she would need for his treatment. "They keep everything clean, including your dorms and clothes. They also cook all our food here."

"So, Hogwarts has slaves?" Harry asked, startling Madam Pomfrey into laughing.

"Oh, no, Mr. Potter. House Elves are not slaves. They are a symbiotic magical creature that requires a family to bond to in order to live. The elves here at Hogwarts bonds to the school, staff, and students as their family. A family that is always rotating, to be sure, but a family nonetheless. If they don't have the bond, they will wither and die in a matter of weeks."

"Die?!" Harry cried in shock. "So, if I set one free, they'll die for sure?" Harry guiltily asked.

Madam Pomfrey paused in her preparations to eye Harry shrewdly for a moment. "Well, unless they bond to a new family, then yes. Which house elf did you free?" She asked.

"Dobby." Harry answered, and Dobby popped into the infirmary.

"Did Master Harry Potter sir calls Dobby?" The excitable elf asked.

"No, I was just…" Harry trailed off as he saw Dobby drooping in apparent depression.

Madam Pomfrey laughed at the sight, causing Harry and Dobby to bring their attention to her.

"I'd say it looks like he already bonded to you, Mr. Potter. So you have, indeed, saved his life."

"Is that true, Dobby? Did you bond to me?" Harry asked. He had been sure Dobby was happy to be free, but if he would die without the bond, then…

"Yes, Master Harry Potter, sirs." Dobby guiltily admitting while wrenching his ears painfully. "Dobby be going to iron his hands now in punishment."

"No!" Harry called out frantically before the elf could pop away. "No." He stated more calmly when Dobby remained behind. "I don't want you to hurt yourself, Dobby. You saved me from Mr. Malfoy. I owe you for that. If I can save you by having this bond, that's fine. I'm happy to help you. But don't hurt yourself like the Malfoys forced you to do, okay?"

The diminutive elf started bawling in high emotion. "Master Harry Potter sir is the bestest wizard ever! Dobby is not worthy!"

Madam Pomfrey sighed at the sight of the severely abused Elf. There were so many dark families that didn't appreciate what the little guys did for them, just used them as punching bags. She waited until Harry had calmed down the little guy and sent him on his way before resuming treatment.

"Madam Pomfrey, if you don't mind my asking, could you tell me about House Elves and what they do?" Harry asked.

For Harry, the act of asking a question, of actually expressing interest in a topic, to an adult was a monumental effort. Harry didn't consciously realize it, but Madam Pomfrey's anger at his past treatment, and her immediate efforts to help him and fix something in his life, opened the door of his trust just a crack. Seeing an adult actually helping him was such an oddness to him, that the unusual circumstances caused him to act contrary to his deeply trained passivity where adults were concerned.

"Well, they can do a lot for their bonded family. Cooking, cleaning, running errands, repairing the family's home, and other such things. A family elf can even fetch money from your Gringotts account, if they are given permission to." Madam Pomfrey explained to Harry.

"And, does their magic set off the Ministry's detection of underage magic?" Harry asked.

"No, it doesn't." Madam Pomfrey stated immediately. "Well, I guess they could make it happen deliberately, but why would they?"

Harry went into a sort of daze as he considered that with Dobby being bonded to him, he could have the elf deliver food for him in the summer, so he wouldn't be starved by his relatives.

Just then two wizards, one after the other, stepped out of the infirmary floo.

"Poppy, so good to see you again." The tall sandy blond wizard in deep green robes greeted the infirmary healer.

"Good to see you too Steven. Thank you for coming so soon."

"Hey, you called, we came. That's just how it works!" The other brown haired wizard of average height joked.

"Jon, good to see you." Poppy replied. "I'd like to introduce you two to our patient. Mr. Harry Potter, this is Steven Smiths and Jon Cressfeld. They are experts at magical curses, cures, and bindings." Poppy introduced the individuals to each other.

"No way! You're saying the Harry Potter has…?" Jon exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes." Poppy nodded seriously. "He also has some nasty dark magic in his scar I thought Steven could look at. I've been prohibited from doing deep scans on students, especially Mr. Potter here, without certain…criteria, being met."

Steven and Jon looked at Poppy in question. She mouthed the word "later" to them.

"Mr. Potter, is it okay if we perform scans on your person?" Steven asked formally.

Harry looked at Poppy in question, and when he saw her nod firmly, agreed to the scans.

The two experts pulled out their wands and, one at a time, began running their diagnostic spells so they wouldn't interfere. After reading over their results, huddling into a trio while consulting with each other over a plan of attack, they finally, after a good half hour, stood in front of Harry once more.

Despite listening to what the trio had been saying, Harry had a hard time understanding just what the three were talking about.

"Okay, we're not going to beat around the bush, Mr. Potter." Jon said. "There is a lot wrong, but we can fix it. The first thing is that there is a leach in your scar. It must have come from You-Know-Who. It's been draining your magic, worsening your eyesight, and generally making it difficult for you to concentrate, from what we can tell."

Harry scowled at the reported effects that the leach from Voldemort had on him.

"Now, we can get rid of it, pretty easily too. But that's not the only thing" Steven chimed in. "We've found two bindings on your magic. The first was probably placed on you by your parents when you were young. It's not too restrictive, it's a safety measure that many parents of strong magical babies will have placed on their kids to prevent them from accidentally hurting themselves or others with their accidental magic. Usually they will have it removed by the time their child is eight. But yours, well, never got removed." Steven had an embarrassed look on his face for talking about such a sensitive topic with the orphan.

"The other binding though, was placed a little under eight years ago. That one is much more restrictive. I'd imagine that having your magic under the two bindings has made it difficult for your magic to express itself as your magic struggled under the two bindings."

"I do have a hard time learning the spells. When I finally get them, I can do them good, but it's difficult to get them in the first place." Harry admitted with a frown as he thought about all the times growing up his magic wasn't around, until he was in a very difficult situation where it would burst out in an erratic manner.

"There you go, that's probably a result of the binding and the leach making it hard for you to learn your spells. So, for the procedure, we're going to knock you out so you don't feel the pain or move around too much on us. We'll remove the leach from your scar, then remove the bindings, then Poppy will finish healing up the rest of you. Sound like a plan?"

Harry looked at the expectant faces of the three adults in front of him. They had already done more for him in an hour than any other adult had his whole life, as far as he could remember. And they hadn't even gotten started yet.

"Yeah. Sounds good." Harry agreed.

"Okay, when you wake up, you'll feel like a brand new man." Jon proclaimed as Poppy caused Harry to fall asleep.

Harry came back to consciousness feeling very well rested. The aches and pains from his many years of beatings at the Dursleys no longer hurt him. The deep muscle and joint pain from the basilisk venom was gone. His head felt clear for the first time in years.

Opening his eyes, Harry was amazed that he could see clearly without his glasses. Sitting up, he saw he was still in the infirmary, and it was empty. He got up, testing his limbs. He noticed they felt a little awkward, he felt more gangly than he had before. It would take some getting used to.

He got out of bed and made a quick trip to the bathroom. When he returned to his bed, he saw Madam Pomfrey waiting for him with a smile.

"I'm glad to see you're up and about, Mr. Potter. How are you feeling?"

Harry took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and released it. "I'm actually feeling great, Madam Pomfrey." He said with a smile back at the healer.

"Good." She replied. "Why don't you sit back on the bed. I'll give you one more checkup, then you can leave. Just so you know, you've been unconscious for 24 hours now, while we fixed you up. This evening will be the Leaving Feast, and tomorrow is the start of summer. So be sure to pack today so you can get a good rest. You still have a series of nutrient and growth potions that you have to take for another two months. I'll have your elf deliver them to you each morning."

Harry was surprised he wasn't more overwhelmed at the flood of information. Prior to his treatment, he would have been struggling to keep up with everything Madam Pomfrey had told him, and trying hard to put everything together.

But now, he was able to assimilate all the information easily, and very quickly consider the ramifications of what she had told him. It seemed to Harry that his brain worked a hundred times better than before, when he had the leach in his head.

"Thanks for all your help, Madam Pomfrey." Harry smiled at the healer. "And thank Misters Smiths and Cressfeld for me, please?"

"I'll do that Mr. Potter. Now, off you get."

"Oh, before I go, did Ron or Hermione drop by yesterday?" Harry asked.

Poppy frowned for a moment, before returning to a faint smile. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Potter. I didn't exactly advertise where you were, since I didn't want any busy bodies to interfere with your treatment."

"Oh." Harry wasn't quite sure what to think of that piece of information. The fact that his friends didn't even come looking for him made him feel a little hollow inside, but he couldn't quite put a name to what he was feeling. "Well, thanks again Madam Pomfrey." Harry said again as he was leaving the infirmary.

Harry took his time making his way to the Gryffindor common room. He had a lot on his mind, thinking about what he'd learned from Madam Pomfrey about his magical bindings, as well as how easy it was to take out the leach in his head, which let him think much clearer. The fact that apparently Dumbledore was his Magical Guardian, and hadn't wanted him to get treatment. The fact that his friends hadn't come looking for him.

Harry wasn't sure just what was going on around him. But he decided he would at least be more watchful about what was going on around him from now on. Maybe he could figure something out now that he was thinking much more clearly.

As he was walking down the corridors, he noticed a blonde Ravenclaw sticking a parchment up on the wall that many students would pass by on a regular basis. She had unkempt hair tied up in a pony tail, radish earrings, and no shoes on.

Harry was curious about just what she was doing, so after she moved on further down the hall he spent a moment to read over the parchment. He learned that she was called Luna Lovegood, and was asking for help from the students to help her find her things that were missing.

Harry looked at the small shoeless blonde girl as she was putting up notices. He began thinking about how his cousin Dudley would always pick on the strange looking students and steal their things. Or how Dudley would chase away anyone who looked to be getting friendly with Harry. He started to feel anger and indignation rise inside of him. He wanted to do something about the situation, but what?

Harry then suddenly thought of how last summer Dobby had stolen his letters from his friends. Maybe if Dobby was capable enough to steal his letters, he'd be good enough to find Luna's things.

"Dobby, can you come here?" The small elf excitedly appeared.

"What can Dobby do for Master Harry Potter, sirs?"

"Two things. First, Please don't call me that. Just Harry is fine."

"Yessir, Master Harry, sir."

Harry gave a soft chuckle. If that was the best the elf could do, then that would have to be fine. "Thanks. Second, you see Luna Lovegood over there?" Harry asked, pointing at the girl down the corridor.

"Yes, Master Harry sir, Dobby sees her."

"Well, apparently people have been taking her things, do you think you could find her things and return them to her trunk?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Master Harry sir, Dobby can do."

"Please do so, Dobby. And thanks." The elf got a little teary eyed at the thanks from his bestest master, before popping away.

Harry chuckled a bit, and turned to continue on his way, but was shocked to see someone had snuck up on him. He was looking at kind grey eyes from a foot away.

"That was very kind of you, Harry Potter. I'm Luna Lovegood. Everyone calls me Loony, though." The small first year Ravenclaw said in an airy kind of voice.

"Luna is a lovely name, I think I'll stick to using that. You can call me Harry, if you want." Harry greeted the girl after getting over his shock of being snuck up on.

"Why did you help me, Harry, even though you don't know me?" Luna asked expectantly.

Harry got the impression she was digging for an answer deeper than 'just because I felt like it'. Harry just shrugged at her.

"Growing up with my…relatives…I never really had anything of my own. But anything I did have, my cousin would ruin it for me. So, I understand what it's like. I don't want anyone to have to feel like that, really." Harry answered.

"Hmm…" The blonde girl twisted back and forth on her bare feet as she considered his answer.

Before she could say anything, Dobby popped back in. "Missy Lovegoods things all being cleaned and returned Master Harry sir." The elf reported back in.

"Thank you Dobby Elf." Luna stated graciously.

"Yeah, thanks Dobby. You did a great job. You can get back to whatever you were doing before, if you want."

After Dobby popped out, Harry looked over at Luna for a moment, before smiling at her. "I'd better get back to my room and pack up now. It was good meeting you, Luna."

"It was nice meeting you too, Harry." Luna smiled at Harry before skipping away, humming a tune.

Harry smiled too, before he continued his trek to Gryffindor house.

Harry entered the Gryffindor Common room to see it was half full of students hanging out and relaxing. He looked around and spotted Hermione reading a book, with a stack of books in front of her. Smiling at the stereotypical behavior from his bookworm friends, Harry approached her.

"Hey, Hermione. I'm glad to see you're doing good." Harry said with a smile when he was standing in front of her.

"Hey, Harry. Yeah, I'm feeling fine. Just busy catching up with things." The brown haired girl absently muttered without looking away from her books before going back to scribbling notes on what she was reading.

Harry stood there awkwardly for a moment. "Well, I'm glad to see you doing good. Guess I'll go pack now."

"Hm mm. That sounds nice, Harry." Hermione stated.

Harry turned away, feeling very confused. Granted, he was feeling much more clearheaded now than in the past, but even before he got the leach out of his head that was muddling him up, he had thought Hermione would be a bit more…receptive or enthusiastic to see him again. At the very least she would have asked about what he did.

But seeing her just so…distracted and not engaged was a weird thing. He decided he would think on it for now. Maybe she was upset she missed so much school and was trying to catch up?

Harry headed for the stairs up to his dorms, but saw Ron sitting at a couch, playing himself in chess.

"Hey Ron." Harry greeted his red head best mate.

"Oh, hey Harry. Where have you been? I've been wanting to play you chess! Come on, join me for some games." Ron said without looking up from his chess set.

Harry frowned in thought. It seems like his friends hadn't even noticed he'd been in the infirmary for 24 hours.

"Not now, Ron. I've got to go pack." Harry replied.

"Oh, come on, Harry. You can do that later tonight. Just one game." Ron whined.

"Fine, one game." Harry gave in to his first friend ever and sat down to play the game.

Over the course of the game, Ron nattered on about how cool it was that they defeated a basilisk and were the heroes of the school. About his favorite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons. About how excited Ron was to have no school work for the next couple months, and how much fun he was going to have.

Harry frowned over the game of chess. Had conversations with Ron always been like this? He felt a certain amount of…annoyance…at the topics his red head friend was talking about. Especially when he was talking about "them" defeating the basilisk in a boasting manner. Ron hadn't even stayed awake while Harry had fought for his and Ginny's life.

And then when Ron kept talking about how much fun he was going to have over the summer, while Harry was thinking about how he would once more be forced to go back to his prison at his relatives. Harry felt a large amount of irritation that his friend would keep bringing it up. Ron knew how much Harry hated going back to the Dursleys.

Harry sighed. He was definitely different now, with the leach out of his head. He could think clearer, and all kinds of thoughts that he'd never had before were popping up in his head.

Harry got close to beating Ron at chess, but ultimately lost. "Thanks for the game, Ron. I'm gonna go pack, now."

"No, come on Harry. One more game." Ron whined again.

"Not now, Ron. Maybe later." Harry could see that Ron was all set to keep badgering him until he gave in, but Harry was determined not to give in this time.

"Second years, listen up!" The 6th year perfect, Thaddeus Rossed called out and diverted Ron's tantrum. "This is the last chance before the year ends to turn in your elective choice before the summer. Hand me the form, and I'll hand it off to Professor McGonagall. Last chance, better get a move on."

Ron laughed. "Hah, we'll have an easy grade with Divination and Care of Magical Creatures, right Harry?"

Harry felt some irritation rise up at the way Ron just assumed Harry would join him in those classes. Harry just shrugged at Ron as he moved up the stairs to get his form.

Looking at the form, Harry thought back to when he'd agreed with Ron that he needed the easy options. Now, that decision seemed wrong to him. In fact, thinking back on how he had just coasted in class and school work just seemed wrong to him.

Magic and Hogwarts was his escape from the Dursleys. It was freaking magic! Why didn't he ever get excited to learn it? Why did he just settle for doing as little as he could? Was it because of the leach that had been in his head, and his first friend's example? He hadn't wanted to upset his first friend who had shown such annoyance and contempt at Hermione for being eager to study?

Why did that all seem so incredibly stupid to him now that he could think clearly? Why couldn't he have realized it before, but it came so easily to mind now? It's like he didn't even know himself at all.

With that realization, Harry firmly decided that he would not take Divination. He had heard the other students talking about what kind of jobs were available after graduating, and cool things like Curse Breaking, Ward Making, Magical Construction, or Spell Crafting all required Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. He was up in the air about Care of Magical Creatures and didn't even want to bother with Muggle Studies.

Harry decided he would sign up for Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and CoMC. If he found the load too difficult to keep up with, he would drop CoMC. Now that his decision was made, he quickly scribbled his choices down on the form, before running downstairs and handing his form off to the prefect.

Harry saw that Ron was distracted with his chess set again, and felt relieved that he wouldn't have to put up with his badgering for the moment, and went back upstairs to pack his trunk.

Harry first unpacked everything in his trunk to clear out the junk and be able to better organize it. Once everything was laid out on and around his bed, he scowled. He was missing his father's cloak of invisibility and his broom.

He stomped over to Ron's trunk, and flipped it open. Sure enough, his broom and cloak were sitting there. Grabbing them up, Harry folded up his cloak and packed it away in his trunk. He then looked over his broom. Harry scowled again at seeing all the dirt, smudged fingerprints, and bent broom bristles.

Ron had obviously gone through his trunk without permission and "borrowed" his things. Harry realized that Ron had been doing that kind of thing for the past two years, and Harry had made the decision not to confront Ron because he hadn't wanted to alienate his first friend. But now, Harry was feeling really annoyed at Ron's presumption that it was okay to use and abuse his things.

Especially his father's cloak. That was the only thing of his parents that he had. If Ron got caught and the cloak was confiscated, he might lose the only thing of his father's he had. Since the year was almost over, Harry decided not to confront Ron, for now. He would think about how to deal with it over the summer. But one thing was for sure, he wouldn't stand for Ron's casual disregard for his possessions anymore.

It's not like he'd ever had something of his very own that wasn't hand me downs before, so he understood Ron's jealousy of anything new that Harry had. But it was the first time Harry ever had things of his own, and he didn't like that Ron casually took his stuff.

Harry started looking at all his things as they were laid out. He scowled at the books he had. If he didn't know any better, he would swear that the books he had were more worn down than they should be.

He looked over at Ron's trunk speculatively. Deciding to act on his suspicion, since he would be agonizing over it all summer if he didn't at least check, Harry started unpacking Ron's mess of a trunk.

Sure enough, he found that in Ron's trunk were his books that looked pretty new, some of his quills, ink wells, and potions equipment. Harry remembered how worn and second hand everything Ron had looked at the beginning of the year. But now, he had all new and nice looking things that he'd switched with Harry's things.

Harry suddenly remembered how quickly Dobby had been able to find Luna's things for her, and realized he could get the elf's help. Plus, he was worried that Ron might come up while he was retrieving his things and start a fight over it, even though he was just getting his things back.

"Dobby, can you come here? Thanks for coming so quick." Harry complimented the elf when he appeared. "Can you sort out which things are mine, and which things are Ron's and pack up our trunks?" Harry asked the little elf.

"Yes, Master Harry sir. Dobby can do." And with a click of his fingers, the different books, potions equipment, cloths and other items started flying across the room to the correct trunk. Harry also saw several galleons and sickles pop out of a secret pocket in Ron's trunk and zoom across the room and get deposited into his money pouch.

Harry gritted his teeth at the sight. Evidently Ron had been taking advantage of Harry's easy going nature.

"Dobby, can you make sure not to pack Ron's trunk so neatly? He's kind of a slob, and I don't want him aware just yet that we've taken my things back yet." Harry asked.

With a snap of his fingers, Dobby made it happen.

"Thanks Dobby." Now that they were alone together, Harry had a few questions for the little elf. "Dobby, I'm probably going to be shipped off to my muggle relatives again this summer. Can you make sure I get enough food to eat, and maybe help me with my chores?"

Dobby nodded enthusiastically. "Dobby can do! Dobby be happy to help Master Harry sir!"

"That's great, Dobby, thanks."

After the elf left, Harry looked at the time. It was lunch time. He was feeling pretty hungry. He took one more look at his packed trunk. He stuffed his money pouch in his pocket, and cast a locking charm at his trunk. He hadn't been doing that all year, which as he thought about it now was a huge mistake.

He would make the boundaries clear next year with Ron after a summer away from school. And if Ron cared about their friendship at all, he would straighten up.

Once more in the common room, he looked around. It was pretty much empty. Ron had already gone down to lunch, apparently. Looking over, Harry saw that Hermione was still focused on whatever books she was reading.

"Hey, Hermione. It's lunch time, wanna go down together and eat?" Harry asked his friend.

Hermione made a little annoyed sound in her throat. "Not now, Harry. I'm really busy with this. Maybe later."

Harry sighed. Things just didn't seem the same since he woke up in the infirmary this morning. Sure, he felt better and thought more clearly than he ever had, but it didn't really feel like his friendships were solid, like he had thought they were before.

He was deeply conflicted about what he should do, or if there was anything he could do with his friends. Despite thinking much more clearly, he was still a product of his upbringing. He was basically conditioned to sit down and shut up. So the idea of forcing his friends to pay attention to him because he was feeling lonely or insecure in their friendship was still too alien a concept for him.

"Okay, Hermione. See you later."

Harry began the trek down to the Great Hall for lunch while thinking about his friends, and how unusual the situation he found himself in was.

Upon entering, Harry saw all the eyes of the school go to him. Harry swallowed. For some reason it was easier to handle the stares when he was stupider. Mustering up his Gryffindor courage, he resolutely ignored the stares and whispers as he sat down next to Neville and across from Ron.

"Hey guys." Harry greeted them before he started to eat, listening to roommates talk about their summer plans.

It was a bit surreal for him. It felt like just yesterday the whole school had been gripped with fear about the attacks. And now, it was like absolutely nothing had ever happened. All the students were acting like normal.

Harry didn't really know how to handle the vast change. So, he just kept quiet and watched and listened as the students around him chattered on.

After he finished eating, Harry put together a couple sandwiches and made his way back to the common room. Seeing Hermione still sitting where he'd left her, Harry passed her the sandwiches.

He watched as she absently thanked him and ate the sandwiches while continuing to read. Harry realized that Hermione hadn't looked up at him once since he'd gotten out of the infirmary. And she hadn't gone looking for him when he was there for 24 hours. He didn't like how he felt at that realization.

So he started wandering the halls of Hogwarts, trying to get his mind off of things.

Harry found an empty classroom where he pulled out his wand and started practicing the charms and jinxes he knew. After casting for several minutes, he paused and looked down at his wand. It didn't feel right anymore. It was harder to force his magic through his wand.

Scowling at his wand, Harry realized that his wand had chosen him when he had the leach and the magic blocks on. Apparently it didn't match so good now.

"Well, looks like a visit to Diagon Alley is in order this summer." Harry muttered before he wandered some more. If he was going to be stuck at the Dursleys, he wanted to get his fill of Hogwarts before leaving for several months.

He eventually found himself down by the lake. He sat down, just staring and thinking. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

"What's the matter Scarhead? Sad that your pet mudblood and blood traitor don't want to hang out with you?" A really annoying voice called out.

Harry looked around and saw Malfoy with his two ever present lackeys.

"Oh, hello Malfoy. Looking for a trysting spot with your two book ends? I don't want to interrupt your search for joy, so I'll see you later." And Harry briskly walked off, leaving a red faced shouting Malfoy behind.

Staying and engaging with Malfoy was just a waste of his time, and Harry just didn't feel like dealing with the bigoted bully at the moment.

Harry just wandered around the castle, occasionally popping into an empty classroom and running through spells. He spent a good couple of hours in the owlery chatting with his owl, Hedwig.

He eventually made his way to the Great Hall for the leaving feast. He snagged a seat next to Hermione and tried to engage her in talk about her vacation plans, or classes, or whatever. But Harry could tell his friend wasn't really paying attention to their conversation. She had her mind on something else.

After the feast Harry hung out with Neville, chatting about his summer plans about his greenhouses. Harry was avoiding playing chess with Ron or being ignored by Hermione. He just didn't feel up for either of those two options at the moment.

But he found himself interested listening to Neville talk about plants. He wasn't that interested in plants himself, but hearing the passion Neville had for the subject made Harry admire Neville a bit for having something he loved and studied so much. It made him wonder just what he could be good at and come to love doing just as much.

Eventually Harry fell asleep. He had pleasant dreams, which was a first for him.

The next morning Harry woke early and finished getting ready for the day. He was happy he wouldn't need to drag his trunk down to the train. He had already told Hedwig yesterday to find him in the evening, so she wouldn't be cooped up in her cage all day.

Harry arrived at the Great Hall and took a seat, waiting for breakfast to be served. He watched the various students filing in small groups. While he had the time, he started thinking about how this year had gone.

He suddenly realized that the only magic he had learned this year was from class. He hadn't looked up any spells that he thought would be useful, or spent time outside of class learning. Harry was flabbergasted at just how much time he'd been wasting with Ron.

Speaking of, Ron finally dragged himself down into the hall, and sat to his left. Ron proceeded to eat. Looking around, Harry suddenly realized it was strange that he didn't see Hermione down there. She was usually an early riser.

Harry eventually shrugged off the oddness that Hermione had been exhibiting ever since he'd woken up in the infirmary. He didn't know why she was acting so out of character, and there wasn't much he could do about it since he had no idea why Hermione was acting strange.

He headed up to Gryffindor tower to check to see if Hermione was around. Ron decided he would meet Harry on the train, instead of hiking up to the tower again. Looking around the common room, Harry didn't see Hermione anywhere.

He approached a fifth year student and asked if she could check the second year girls' room to see if Hermione was there. She wasn't, leaving Harry at a loss.

"Well, I guess I'll just head for the train. I hope she makes it." Harry eventually decided.

Exiting the front doors, Harry was startled to see skeletal horses with bat wings were hitched to the carriages. He was so startled he stood frozen for a moment, open mouthed gaping at the unusual sight.

"They are known as Thestrals." A soft voice behind Harry said.

Turning around, Harry saw Luna standing behind him. He was happy to see she had her shoes on this time.

"Hey, Luna. Good morning. What was that you said?"

"I was just telling you that the horsies that pull the carriages are called Thestrals." Luna calmly stated as she moved up next to one and patted its neck. "Most people can't see them, because in order to see them, you need to have seen someone die."

Harry hummed in response as he moved up next to Luna and patted the Thestral too. Seeing it lean into his hand made Harry smile. Harry wondered why he hadn't seen them after first year. Didn't he see Quirrell die? But maybe he hadn't seen the exact moment of death. So did the Basilisk or Riddle-Diary count as having seen death for him?

Harry then held the door open for Luna to get in the carriage and followed after, sitting down across from her. Harry found he liked the aura of calm that Luna seemed to have around her. Even when she was suffering from having her things stolen and wandering barefoot, she just seemed to not let it bother her.

He realized he could use some of that in his life. At the Dursleys he didn't have a moment of peace or calm because he knew that at any moment he could be attacked or berated by his own relatives.

At Hogwarts, he was always letting the stares and whispers, or the provocation of Malfoy and Snape, get to him. Even though he felt like Hogwarts was more of a home than Privet Drive, he didn't feel totally comfortable there.

Harry continued chatting with Luna, and made the decision to spend the train ride with her instead of finding Ron and Hermione. He hadn't been enjoying Ron's idle ramblings lately, and he realized he was still very angry about Ron "borrowing" his things. And Hermione hadn't so much as looked at him instead of her books. It made him feel…unwanted.

Luna on the other hand was engaging, and entertaining to talk with. She told him stories about the hunts for animals her and her father went on. She told the most interesting stories about the wizarding world, and she was just…nice.

When they were rolling into Kings Cross in London, Harry was surprised at how fast the train ride seemed to go. He was also somewhat surprised that his friends hadn't looked for him, but he soon realized that Ron never moved from his seat once he'd taken it, and Hermione was likely still reading her books.

Before departing to find his relatives, he and Luna agreed to write each other over the summer. As he was leaving, Harry realized that if he could keep Hedwig from being caged by his uncle, he could also send letters to Hermione and Neville. He already knew trying to communicate with Ron during the summer was a waste of time.

Dragging his trunk off to find his relatives, he spotted his friend Hermione hugging the stuffing out of her parents. Smiling a bit at the scene, since he was happy for his friend to be happy, even if he was sad he didn't have parents anymore, he moved on and found Vernon waiting impatiently in the parking lot.

"Well, what are you waiting for, boy?" Vernon growled, popping open the boot before getting in the driver's seat.

Harry sighed. It was always the same with his uncle. He only had one setting, Angry. Harry wrestled his trunk into the boot and then sat in the back seat of the car.

The whole ride home was in silence. The sun was already down by the time they arrived at Privet Drive. Vernon got out of the car and stomped his way into the house. Harry retrieved his trunk and dragged it into the house.

"Put your trunk in the cupboard, boy." Vernon growled when Harry got inside.

"Uncle, I need to be able to write some essays as summer homework before I get back. Is it alright if I keep my trunk in my room for the reference books? I promise I won't do anything freaky with it." Harry humbly asked. After last summer he knew if he tried to threaten or demand anything then Vernon would be twice as angry and immediately reject him. Probably go overboard in his reaction too.

Vernon stared at him for a minute. "Fine." He finally ground out. "But you do anything freaky, it'll be ten times worse for you."

Harry nodded. "Yes uncle."

After dragging his trunk up to his room and unpacking his clothes, Harry was surprised to see his Aunt show up with a plate of food.

"After your…friends showed up last year, Vernon and I talked, and decided that things would have to change around here. You still have to do your list of chores, but as long as you don't make things worse for yourself with flaunting your freakiness in front of us, we'll leave you alone up here." Petunia explained with a sneer on her face.

"Yes, aunt." Harry was confused at their behavior. This was the nicest his aunt had ever been to him. And she was actually explaining things instead of just yelling commands at him.

"Good." And with that, his aunt left the plate on the desk in his room and departed.

Harry sat down and started on his dinner while pondering just how much his world was changing. His aunt and uncle were actually being reasonable. It was difficult to wrap his mind around.

He heard a tapping at the window, and got up to open it. Hedwig then flew in, and landed on the desk.

"Hey, Hedwig. How was the flight? Let me get some of those treats you like." Harry said as he opened his trunk to pull out the last of the owl treats he had. He set them out for Hedwig.

He was actually glad he had spent the train ride with Luna instead of his usual friends, because he had found out about the Knight bus that could get him to the Leaky Cauldron whenever. Harry was pretty upset with his friend Ron for never mentioning it before. Harry was wondering what other things were so common place in the wizarding world that his friend didn't bother to mention them.

He planned to go to Diagon Alley in a couple days to visit the bank, get more owl treats, and maybe get a better trunk. The one he had Hagrid had picked out, and it was second hand. But Luna had told him all about the various spells and runic schemes that added amazing features to a trunk. He was determined to get himself a nice trunk that no one but him could access.

Harry finished the first evening of his summer relaxing with his owl and thinking about just what he wanted from his future. It was an unusual activity for the young man who had lived all his life under the mental oppression of the leach in his head. But for the first time in his life, his mind was clear, and he liked it.

The next morning when Harry woke up, he was startled to see a big breakfast and a potion sitting on his desk.

"Dobby?"

"You called Master Harry sir?" Dobby answered.

"Did you provide the breakfast?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Master Harry sir. Miss Nursey Pomfrey says that Master Harry sir needs lots of food to go with the potions. Nasty muggles don't provide Master Harry sir enough food, so Dobby makes Master Harry sir breakfast. Did Dobby do good?"

Harry couldn't stand the way the elf was so nervous, as if he expected to be beaten at any moment. "Yeah, you did good Dobby, thanks." He smiled in amusement when Dobby got really excited and hugged him before popping away.

Harry looked at Hedwig who was looking amused herself. Smiling at his owl, he divvied up the food to share with her. He knew she was partial to bacon, so she got her tithe.

After finishing his meal, he went downstairs. Part of his chores while at Privet Drive was always making breakfast. He might have to help with lunch and dinner, sometimes even cook it all himself depending on his Aunt's mood, but breakfast was always his job.

When he arrived downstairs, Harry was shocked to see that breakfast was already made and sitting on the table, and the kitchen was completely clean. Like spotlessly clean.

"It must be Dobby." Harry murmured with a smile. "Thanks, Dobby." Harry could almost feel the air quiver with happiness.

Harry found the list of chores his aunt left for him. When he walked out to take care of the first one, he found it already done. The whole yard looked professionally done. "Huh, looks like I've got free time on my hands. You're the best, Dobby." Harry chuckled. Saving that elf from the Malfoys was turning out to be one of the best decisions he'd ever made.

Harry made his way back to his room and pulled out his books. Since he had free time, it was time to review everything from first and second year, to make sure he was where he should be knowledge wise.

He started with Transfiguration first year material. As he read, he made notes here and there, but he was wondering if he really needed to. It felt so much easier to memorize the theory than it was before.

And that's how he was starting to think about his life in general. There was Before, when he had the leach and magical bindings making his life difficult. And there was After, or Now.

After switching to Charms, and then Potions, he returned once more to Transfiguration and tested his knowledge. It was easy to recall what he'd learned before. He wasn't forgetting things immediately like Before. Harry was very pleased with his progress.

He took a break for the large lunch that Dobby provided. Harry decided that he would make a trip to Diagon Alley that afternoon, instead of waiting for a few days. His relatives had left him alone all morning, so he wanted to make the trip while they were still being decent human beings.

Harry followed the instructions Luna gave him, and held out his wand. The triple decker purple bus appeared on the street with a bang, and screeched to a halt right in front of Harry. Looking around, it seemed that no one in the neighborhood paid attention to the outlandish monstrosity.

A young looking man looked out of the double doors. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, I'm Stan, the driver is Ernie. Come on up. What's your destination?"

"The Leaky Cauldron, please. How much?"

"That'll be 11 sickles for the ride, 13 if you want hot chocolate, and 15 for hot chocolate, a hot water bottle, and a toothbrush in your choice of colors."

"I'll take just the ride, thanks." Harry answered, digging out 11 sickles to pay the fare.

"Okay then. Take a seat anywhere. Let 'er rip, Ernie!"

Harry then had to jump aside as a couch shot through the space Harry had just been occupying as the bus shot off at great speed.

Harry stumbled out of the bus at the Leaky Cauldron, completely shaken by the ride. He could see why not many people took the bus. It was a nightmare. After taking some time to regain his bearings, Harry made his way to the entrance to Diagon Alley, bypassing the pub so he wouldn't be forced to deal with the wizards and witches inside. He was still a little traumatized from his first public mobbing in that room.

Once inside the bank, Harry inquired of a teller if there was a secure money bag that he could purchase, mindful of how easy it was to "borrow" his money if they were just sitting in the open. Harry chose to spend the 5 galleons to buy a blood bound money pouch. It would not only hold Galleons and pounds, but he could place his vault key securely inside it. If he ever dropped the money pouch or it was stolen, it would return to him securely. Only he could remove anything he placed inside.

Harry thanked the helpful Goblin teller for selling him the pouch, then he made a trip to his vault. He piled in a large amount of coins, so he could be sure he'd have enough for his shopping trip through the alley that afternoon.

He also asked to get some of his galleons in pounds so he could take some time exploring the muggle world too. For so long he'd been locked away (literally in a cupboard) so he was nearly as ignorant of many aspects of the muggle world as he was of the wizarding world, despite having gone to primary.

Harry's first stop was the trunk shop. Once the shop owner saw who Harry was, he was more than happy to upsell Harry on an expensive trunk. Harry took his time deciding though. He wasn't about to be rushed into picking something he didn't want.

He eventually decided on a five compartment trunk. One compartment for his clothes and quidditch gear, one for his school and potions supplies, and a self organizing library compartment. The other two were just big storage space that he could organize in the future. But he wanted the extra space to ensure the trunk would last him a long time. He made sure it had the featherlight, auto shrinking and enlarging with a wand tap, and a security system bound to his blood and magic that would only allow him to open it.

Harry next visited Ollivanders, looking to get his wand checked out. Ever since he had been healed, his wand hadn't been responding very well to him.

Ollivander had done his creepy old man routine, which only amused Harry now instead of freaking him out. He had gotten fitted to a 12" pine and Thestral hair wand that felt much better and more responsive, and had two wand holsters for his new main and spare wand.

His last stop for the day was to Flourish and Blotts to pick up more study material. He had noticed some of the Slytherins had an extra book in Potions that none of the Gryffindors had, and they often referenced it. So Harry was convinced that Snape helped his house become good at potions by informing them of the reference book.

After looking around the potions section for several minutes, Harry found the book. With just a quick glimpse through the contents, Harry knew for sure that 3/4th of the school was having their Potions education sabotaged by their teacher. All that information would have been very valuable the past two years.

Harry picked a few more books for each subject, as well as the primers for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. He also discovered a few more books that he thought would be helpful. One on wizarding culture and etiquette, one on introducing muggleborn to what was available in the wizarding world, and one on basic meditation and mind protection.

After another chaotic ride on the Knight Bus, Harry arrived back at Privet Drive. He quietly made his way to his room where he unshrunk his trunk and started transferring the items he would be keeping from his old trunk to his new one.

After organizing his trunk, he settled down to reading his new set of books. He found over the past couple of days that with his new clarity of mind, came a new purpose for him. He wanted to become independent. He didn't want to have to rely on Ron or Hermione to tell him what he needed to know. Ron had left out so much information about the wizarding world that he was still pretty much as ignorant about it as when he first entered Hogwarts at 11. And Hermione was a muggleborn too, so there was a lot she didn't know. Besides, she was always telling him to study more, so he would take her up on that.

And Harry never could depend on adults to help him.

Madam Pomfrey almost changed his mind about adults, but with the revelation that Dumbledore had wanted to prevent his treatment and keep him weak and dumb, he decided that relying on authority figures was an exercise in futility. If he waited for someone else to help him, he would be waiting a long time.

Harry settled down and spent most of his time over the next few weeks studying, writing letters to his friends, mostly Neville and Luna since Ron and Hermione barely wrote him back, and exercising. Thankfully he had Dobby to take care of food and cleaning, allowing him time to catch up on where he should be knowledge wise.

"Boy. Aunt Marge is going to be visiting tomorrow. I expect you to be on your best behavior." Vernon barked at Harry one morning the first week of August.

Harry frowned as he thought about that. Marge had always been especially abusive. And her dog, Ripper, had loved attacking him. He didn't want to put up with her special brand of abuse at all. Just when the summer seemed to be going decently too. But how to put it?

"Uncle, I think it would be for the best if I made myself scarce while Aunt Marge is here. Sometimes when a…person like me is in danger or extremely angry, they have accidents. Freak accidents. She always rags on my parents or me, and her dog attacks me. Before I thought my parents were useless drunks. But now that I know about them, I don't think I'd like what she has to say about them. So it would be best if I found a different place to be while she's here. It would save us all a lot of trouble. Does that sound acceptable to you, Uncle?"

Harry thought he had made a mistake at first mentioning accidental magic at first, but his offer of being elsewhere for the time being and his apparent deference to Vernon's authority must have done the trick, because Vernon calmed down shortly.

"Fine, if you can visit one of your freak friends, that's probably for the best, boy." Vernon snorted.

"Yes, uncle." Harry responded. He wasn't about to correct his uncle's mistaken impression that he was going to be visiting one of his friends. While that would be great, he didn't feel comfortable dropping in on them out of the blue.

That afternoon Harry packed up everything he owned into his new trunk and left for Diagon Alley. He would rent a room for at least a day while he sent a letter to Neville to see if he could crash at his place for the rest of summer.

The Weasleys were still away on their vacation, and Harry was not too eager to be put in the same room as Ron again anyway. Hermione and Luna were possibilities, but he wasn't sure that their parents would let a boy stay at their place for the three weeks left of summer. So if Neville wasn't able to give him a room, at worst he would rent a room from the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of summer.

He was soon checked into a room at the Leaky Cauldron and sent Hedwig off with a letter to Neville. He would get an answer within the next couple days, he was sure.

The next day around 11 in the morning there was a knock on his door. Wondering who could it be, Harry opened the door and was shocked to see Neville standing there with his grandmother.

"Hello. I didn't exactly expect you to show up like this." Harry said, nonplussed to see them there.

"Hi Harry."

"Good morning Mr. Potter. Augusta Longbottom. Neville here showed me your letter, and it would be deplorable if we didn't assist a scion of House Potter, since we are allies."

Harry blinked in confusion. "We are?"

Augusta sighed. "Has no one taught you your place as an heir of an Ancient and Most Noble family?"

"No, I'm afraid not Mrs. Longbottom." Harry replied.

"Well, someone has done a dreadful job of raising you, then. You should have been made aware of your responsibilities as an heir of such a distinguished House as yours." Augusta then seemed to straighten up even more, if that was possible. "As Regent of House Longbottom, I, August Longbottom, offer sanctuary to Harry Potter, heir of House Potter." She formally offered.

Harry, sensing the seriousness of the exchange, also straightened up. "I, Harry Potter, as heir of House Potter, accept the offer of sanctuary from House Longbottom."

Neville grinned at Harry. "Let's get your trunk and get you moved on to Longbottom Hall, Harry."

Harry grinned back at Neville. "Thanks, Neville. And thank you Mrs. Longbottom."

The strict looking lady faintly smiled and graciously nodded. "Think nothing of it, Mr. Potter. It is what we should do."

Harry had only unpacked a few books, so it took no time for him to repack everything. They soon arrived at Longbottom Hall through the floo. Harry found the spinning of the floo horrible, but he managed to stay on his feet when exiting the fire place.

With only three weeks left until the start of school, Augusta started a series of lessons on etiquette in the wizarding world and his responsibilities as an Heir of such an influential house, as well as how to handle the celebrity and media he would no doubt run into.

With his stay at Longbottom Hall, Harry now had a maximum of two adults that he felt he could trust. Augusta Longbottom and Poppy Pomfrey were the only two on the list so far.

He also enjoyed spending a lot of time with Neville in his greenhouses or wandering their grounds. Through their talks, he found that Neville also had the same problem Harry had with his wand after he was healed. It was a poor match.

Harry brought up Neville's ill matching wand with Augusta, and the three soon made a trip to Ollivanders for a new wand for Neville. Seeing the face of Neville on finding his wand, and being genuinely thanked by Augusta, made Harry's day. It felt good to do something good for someone.

Another thing Harry shared with Neville and Augusta was his discovery that only the Slytherins had been directed to obtain the Ingredients and Reactions book that helped them in potions. Once Neville had access to the book and studied it a bit, he started being able to directly translate his vast knowledge of plants into usefulness in his potion making.

Harry was impressed at Neville's ability, and told him so. Neville genuinely had a talent with plants.

Soon enough it was time to return to school. Harry had immensely enjoyed his time in Longbottom Hall, and was delighted that Augusta invited him back the next summer. She hadn't been happy that someone of his stature was forced to live with muggles and remain ignorant of his societal duties.

Harry happily accepted the offer. He sent a letter to the Dursleys to let them know that the following summer he would not need them to pick him up, he had made alternate accommodations.

It didn't take long after their third year started for Harry to start having fights with Ron. When Ron found out that Harry hadn't signed up for Divination there was row. When Ron found he couldn't get into Harry's trunk to borrow his stuff, he complained to Harry, and Harry wasn't going to put up with that, so there was a fight. When Harry refused to play more than one chess game a week or when Harry spent most of his time studying or hanging out with Neville and Luna, Ron would get jealous and say some pretty nasty things. Thus their friendship ended. Harry just wouldn't put up with being Ron's rug that he could walk all over.

Harry had pretty much seen the writing on the wall that his friendship with Ron was over once Harry stopped letting Ron walk all over him and take advantage of him. He wasn't too broken up about losing Ron as a friend, since he hadn't really been a good friend.

But he was saddened that he was losing Hermione as a friend. Any time that Harry wanted to spend time with Hermione, she was always studying something or nowhere to be found. He had thought with his new appreciation for studying and how serious he was about school he would be able to keep his friendship with her, but that didn't seem to be the case.

She had shown how much she didn't seem to want to spend time with him by not being around or talking to him much. In the end, Harry could only realize he had to let the friendship go. It was a good thing he now had Neville and Luna to keep him company, so he didn't feel nearly as bad that his first two friendships ended.

The worst thing was that he didn't even know why she just stopped caring about him and spending time with him. He could never find her at a proper time to have a talk one on one to figure it out, and she would hardly even look at him when they were in class. She always seemed to be focused on whatever her projects or studies or whatever was.

Eventually Harry stopped trying to interact with Hermione. It was too painful to see how she avoided him or ignored him. So he did the best he could to move on and focus on all the good times he was building with Neville and Luna, and focus on schoolwork. Hermione had made it clear that she didn't want to be part of his life, so he decided to move on, no matter how painful it was.

Things started happening around the wizarding world that had an impact on Harry's life. He had learned from Augusta that Sirius Black, the traitor that got his parents killed, had escaped Azkaban. But within the first month of school Peter Pettigrew had shown up at the DMLE all tied up with a note about his culpability in certain crimes.

Once Madam Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, had questioned Pettigrew under veritaserum, the news that Sirius Black was framed made explosive news. By Christmas time both Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew had their trials. Sirius had heard that Pettigrew had been captured, so he turned himself in. Sirius was exonerated, while Pettigrew had taken his place in Azkaban.

Barty Crouch Sr., who had been part of the group who threw Sirius into prison without a trial, had been found to be harboring his Death Eater son in his home under the Imperius. Barty Crouch had smuggled his son out disguised as his wife under polyjuice. Once that news got out, new protective measures were put into place so no one else could escape Azkaban that way. Both Crouch's were thrown into prison for life after their trials.

When Harry spent Christmas with the Longbottoms, they spent a day visiting Neville's parents as well as visiting Harry's godfather, Sirius, who was stuck in the hospital getting treatment.

Before, when Harry still had the leach in his head, he might have latched onto Sirius as his only hope to escape the Dursleys. But Harry had spent nearly half a year with a clear head, had a clear distrust for most adults, and felt that his future was his to shape, not to coast along following other's opinions of what he should do.

So while Harry was looking forward to getting to know one of his parent's friends for the stories he could tell, Harry still held himself in reserve a bit and didn't accept Sirius wholeheartedly as he might have once done. He wouldn't reject getting to know the man, and wasn't completely averse to the idea of spending his summers with him, but fully putting his trust in a man that hadn't already proved his loyalty was a bit beyond him.

The rest of Harry's third year passed in a quiet manner, now that there were not any Dementors hanging outside Hogwarts. Harry and Neville were doing excellent in class. Harry still felt pain inside when he saw Hermione, but he was slowly coming to accept the new state of affairs. At least he had his friends Neville and Luna to keep him company.

Harry spent that summer living with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Harry was shocked that his defense professor all last year had been friends with his parents growing up and never said anything to him all year.

It made Harry not really trust Lupin, so Harry kept a bit of emotional distance from the man. He felt like he couldn't put his full trust in the man. And Sirius was more of a fun uncle figure than a parent like figure.

So while Harry had a fun summer, he felt he would have still enjoyed it more spending the time at Longbottom Hall. He, Neville, and Luna had spent quite a bit of time hanging out with each other. Harry had continued lessons from Augusta over the summer on what his duties were.

He also found out that Sirius had made him his heir to the Black family, since his grandmother had been a Black before marrying into the Potter family. So if Sirius died without any heirs, he would need to have a son for each family to pass the family on to.

Harry wasn't sure what to think about the necessity to marry and have kids. He didn't have the best examples in his life. The Dursleys and the Weasleys were the only real examples he'd seen of married couples. And he found he really didn't want to emulate either men. Vernon was an angry bigot, and Arthur was a rug for his wife.

Eventually Harry decided he didn't need to think about it for years. So he put it out of his mind for the time being and focused on schooling and spending time with the people in his life.

Harry's fourth year saw Hogwarts host the Tri Wizard Tournament. Beauxbaton and Durmstrang schools each arrived in a flashy manner. Durmstrang's old time ship rose from the depths of the Black Lake, while Beauxbaton's flying carriage, pulled by Abraxan winged horses, landed from the sky.

Harry was a little put out that Quidditch was canceled for the year. Gryffindor won the cup the previous year since there were no dementors attacking the games. He hadn't been able to win the cup his first and second year because of the dangers at school causing him to be unable to play in the games. So he wanted to win the next few years.

At the Champion selection Harry watched as Fleur Delacour was chosen for Beauxbaton, Victor Krum was chosen for Durmstrang, and Cedric Diggory was Hogwarts champion.

Since the tournament had nothing to do with him, Harry put together some pick up quidditch games that many students joined in on. He had a great year with nothing special happening, but he enjoyed himself a lot.

The summer before his fifth year when he received his school letter, he discovered he was made the fifth year prefect. He debated with himself if he wanted to accept it, because he knew the female prefect was probably going to be Granger. Eventually he decided he would prefer to take the roll. He knew Neville didn't want the responsibility, Dean and Seamus messed about too much, and the idea of Ron being a prefect was silly. The boy was the epitome of laziness ever since Herm-Granger had stopped being their friend.

So Harry decided that he would accept the role, if only so the younger years wouldn't have to put up with certain male Gryffindors.

"Harry…" The uncertain female voice called out to him when he was about to enter the prefects cabin for the meeting at the beginning of the train ride.

Harry turned to see who was calling his name. It was her. She was actually looking at him.

"Miss Granger." Harry stiffly nodded to her. He saw a flash of hurt go across her face, and felt a kind of sick satisfaction that he had the ability to hurt her. Just like she had hurt him. He fought against it, the desire to hurt her. It wasn't right to hurt others, just because he was hurt. And he knew that ideally he should be happy for her to have success, for her to be happy. But he just couldn't convince himself that he was happy for her. He couldn't seem to get past the fact that she had abandoned him without a word about why.

Even two years later he was still upset about it. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't seem to get over it.

With Ron he had actually been almost happy to have excuses to break off their friendship. But not Hermio-Granger.

"I see you were also made the fifth year prefect. Shall we?" Harry continued when it looked like she wasn't going to say anything more except look at him with those eyes. He turned away so he wouldn't have to see those eyes or the pleading expression in them. She had made her choice back then. She would have to live with it.

He wouldn't be making the first overture. He couldn't. Not after she already abandoned him once.

Harry got through the meeting somehow, and he and Granger started their patrol. They caught a few students being overly rambunctious, and stopped them from going overboard.

And finally, it was done and he could escape her gaze. He made it back to the compartment with Neville and Luna. He took several deep breaths. It didn't help that his two friends, sitting comfortably close to each other, gave him sympathetic looks. He didn't want sympathy, he wanted this to be easier to handle.

But he started taking each day as it came. And when he couldn't handle being around her anymore, he took himself off to an empty classroom to wear himself out practicing his spellcasting.

One day after a few months into the school year, he was in the library when he noticed Hermione confronting Luna in the stacks. He snuck up near them to make sure everything was fine.

"I don't get it. Why won't he even talk to me?" Hermione demanded of Luna.

Luna looked steadily at Hermione for a time, judging her. Eventually she started talking. "I'm not going to break his confidence. Not even for you. But I will tell you that you were the one that stopped talking to him at a point in his life where things were changing. You were the one that abandoned him without even an explanation when he could have used a friend to help him. And you ignored him for so long that he gave up hope. And now, two years later, you want to rejoin his life as if you never left? Without even explaining to him why? Is it any wonder why he won't talk to you? The ball is in your court. You need to be the one that opens yourself up to him. Expecting him to open up to you and make himself vulnerable again without any kind of offering from you that makes you just as vulnerable to him is doomed to failure. You have a chance here. But only the one chance. And it's a limited time opportunity. If you don't seize the opportunity, you'll lose it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some studying to do."

Luna left Hermione and Harry standing there in the stacks, separated by the books as they both thought about what Luna had said.

Harry slipped out of the library without being seen. He had to spend some time thinking about what Luna had said. Was he really waiting for Hermione to explain herself? Was he still hoping that she could return and they would be friends again, or even more? Is that why it still hurt after two years? That he still had hope for her return?

Harry couldn't come to any conclusion about his true feelings until he saw her at the breakfast table the next day. The way he felt when he looked at Hermione let him know that Luna had been right. He was still hoping she would explain herself in such a way that he could accept her back in his life. He still cared for her, even more so now than before. He didn't know why he felt that way, but he did.

But like Luna said, he couldn't make the first step. She chose to leave his life. She would have to make the decision to come back in. He wouldn't, he couldn't extend his trust to her if she wasn't even willing to make that effort.

"Harry, can we talk?" Hermione finally asked in the middle of one of their patrols.

Harry paused. It had been over a month since he had overheard what Luna said to Hermione in the library that one day. He had almost given up hope that she would talk to him. He momentarily felt a desire to tell her no, to make her wait like she'd made him wait. But he'd promised himself that if she made the effort that he wouldn't be petty, he wouldn't try to hurt her. He would listen and give her a chance.

It still didn't give her carte blanche. If her reasons for breaking off their friendship weren't good, he wouldn't be able to accept it. But he would forever regret it if he didn't at least listen.

"Yeah, we can." Harry stated, looking back at Hermione.

"Follow me, I know a place where we can talk in privacy. It'll also allow me to show you certain things." Hermione led Harry to the seventh floor, to a tapestry of a wizard trying to teach trolls to dance. "This place is known as the Room of Requirement. If you pace back and forth three times while thinking of what kind of room you need, it will become what you need."

Hermione then paced back and forth, and a door appeared on the wall. Once Hermione opened the door, Harry followed her inside. He saw a table that had a large basin on it. On either side of the table were two chairs. Harry sat on one, while Hermione sat on the other.

"This is really hard to talk about." Hermione started. "And I know it will be hard to believe. That's why I brought us here. This basin is what's called a pensieve. A pensieve is…"

"A memory replay device that allows those who view the memory to be immersed inside it. Yes, I've come across the information about the rare devices." Harry interrupted.

Hermione smiled fleetingly. "So many differences." She softly muttered. Taking a deep breath, she began again. "I'm also willing to take an oath that what I'm telling and showing you is the truth, just so you understand that I'm being serious. The truth is that I've traveled back in time. I traveled from the year 2015 back to that day that I woke up from being petrified by the basilisk. It all started when…"

Hermione then launched into the story about what originally happened after their second year. About how they spent the whole year convinced that Sirius Black had broken out of Azkaban for the purpose of killing Harry Potter. About how he learned the Patronus spell at 13. About how they found out about Pettigrew when Sirius in his animagus form dragged Ron and Scabbers aka Peter Pettigrew through the secret tunnel under the Whomping Willow. How Snape and Lupin without his Wolfsbane brew ruined everything and Harry and Hermione had to save Sirius with the use of a time turner.

Hermione then told Harry how their fourth year had originally gone, with Barty Crouch Jr. impersonating Alastor Moody as their DADA teacher, and how he entered Harry into the tournament. She told how Ron had reacted to Harry being part of the tournament, how the Yule ball went, how he performed in all the tasks. How Harry was kidnapped at the third task and was used in the resurrection ritual of Voldemort.

She explained how Fudge had used the Daily Prophet to vilify Harry, and how Umbridge had become their DADA teacher and tortured him. How Snape had mentally tortured him, and eventually how they ended up in a trap and Sirius died at the end of the year.

She told Harry how their Sixth year had gone, what Dumbledore had done and shown Harry about Voldemort's Horcruxes, and how the year ended with the death of Dumbledore.

She looked so broken down and vulnerable relating the tale that Harry felt his heart moving. He was becoming more receptive to the idea that she was telling the truth, and that there was the possibility they could regain their friendship.

Hermione continued to tell how, instead of attending their seventh year, they went on the run because Voldemort's forces took over the Ministry. How they spent the year hunting down the Horcruxes. They were captured, tortured, escaped thanks to Dobby but Dobby died, and how they had a final showdown at Hogwarts. How Snape, at Dumbledore's urging, had convinced Harry that he had a Horcrux in his scar, so Harry walked out voluntarily and was killed by Voldemort.

She told how the defenders of the Castle were so enraged at Harry's death that they finally fought like they should have at the beginning. But it was too late. Too many good people were dead, and their numbers were not enough to make up for the disparity.

Hermione had been able to escape at the end, but she had been just about the only one. She then used magic and muggle methods to wage a guerilla war. She killed off most of the death eaters, and even got Voldemort with a bomb. Then she began to research how to travel back in time. She hoped she could save everyone. She especially wanted to save Harry, who she had finally admitted to herself that she loved after he was already gone.

And when she woke up in the past, she had a mental break. Looking at all the people who didn't have the past several years of memories, who were young and innocent, unlike her. She realized that her Harry had really died, that he was gone for good. There was no getting him back. The 12 year old Harry wasn't her Harry. And that's why she hadn't been able to look at him. Why she shut herself up with her books and tasks to make the future of this world a better place.

Hermione then showed him several memories of her past that would never come to be. Harry was convinced. He always knew his Hermione was brilliant, but for her to master time travel? It blew his mind.

Harry had long since felt, while listening to her, that it was a good enough reason to give her another chance. He moved over to her, picked her up and set her on his lap as he sat, and held her in a hug. He just held her tight as she cried in relief, in grief, in rage, in just a huge ball of complicated feelings that had been festering for years.

Harry didn't try to talk, he just made soothing noises as he held her. As he held her, felt her in his arms, he could finally admit to himself that the reason her abandonment had hurt him so much is that he loved her. At only 12 years old with a nasty leach messing with his head, and the past he had, he didn't have the first clue about what love was, so he could not have verbalized just why her abandonment had hurt him so much.

But after getting rid of the leach, being able to think clearly, and having Neville and Luna as his friends, he had learned something about how to understand his feelings. Even if was still pants at expressing them, he was at least able to identify them. And he had now, finally, admitted how much he cared for the first girl to ever give him a hug. To care about him doing his best. To care for him.

Looking down, Harry saw that Hermione had fallen asleep. The room created a couch for Harry when he wished for it. Harry carefully picked up Hermione and settled down on the couch with her.

He smiled sadly down at her. "We're two messed up people, Hermione. It took so much just for us just to admit to each other that we love each other. Hopefully we can eschew the drama from here on out."

Harry then settled down to wait for Hermione to wake up. He knew he would have to explain his side to her next. Especially his magnified distrust for most everyone, but especially adults and authority figures, and why it was so hard for him to give her another chance. He was so glad he did give her that chance. Because for a girl who would break the very laws of time to save him? She was a keeper. He definitely felt it was worth it to give her the chance to explain what happened.

Now it just remained to be seen if they could work it out with each other. If she had gotten over that other Harry Potter and could give him a chance. And what a thing it was to be jealous of his own self. Harry chuckled to himself.

As Harry waited for Hermione to wake up, he realized that on that morning she time traveled, if she had gone to the Great Hall with the other students, Harry would have never gone to the infirmary looking for her. Madam Pomfrey would not have had the excuse needed to actually heal him. He would have lived with the stupidity inducing leach and his bound magic.

He would have stayed dumb and joined Ron in Divination. He would have taken Ron back as a friend after Ron abandoned Harry in fourth year. Every move of his would have been because of his stupidity induced by the leach. And it would have led to so many deaths.

Harry stroked Hermione's hair as he thought through the chain of events that changed due to his girl's time travel. She was amazing. And Harry finally started to feel like he had found his home.

When Hermione woke up, Harry did spend the next period of time explaining what had happened to him when he went to the infirmary looking for her. What the effects of being healed, getting rid of his magic bindings, and getting rid of the leach were.

Harry found himself gratified at Hermione's exclamations of remorse that she wasn't there for him during that time. He took it as a sign that she did care for him.

He then explained why Dumbledore's orders to Madam Pomfrey had made him particularly untrusting. Adding on Ron's stealing his things and Hermione ignoring him and it was a wonder that he didn't become completely asocial.

Having Hermione hug him tight and say how sorry she was to have abandoned him was a balm on Harry's soul. He had grown up in a difficult and loveless environment, and it was really the first time someone had ever apologized for wronging Harry.

That it was Hermione that gave him another first experience in his life somehow made it more special to Harry.

"Hermione. I care a great deal about you. You were the first one to ever really care about me. The first to give me a hug, to encourage me. With that leach in my head I was never able to understand just how much you meant to me. But now I do. And I want you to be part of my life, always."

Hermione looked a little bit conflicted, and Harry guessed that it could be about a few things, like the other Harry and her feelings for him. Or that she was mentally older than he was by more than a few years. Or any number of things. He was desperate that she not shut off the possibilities, so he interrupted her before she could say anything.

"You don't have to say anything right now, or agree to anything. We should first rebuild our friendship and get to know each other once more. We are very different people from who we were back in 2nd year, after all."

Hermione smiled at Harry's offering. "I'd like that Harry. I know I've hurt you a great deal, and I know I'm not exactly ready to move on, I'm still grieving some. So just being friends for now is good."

Harry couldn't help but smile back. At least she was back in his life now. Everything else could be worked out with time.

Neville and Luna were at first a little surprised at Hermione joining their group. They both new how much she had hurt Harry in second year. But with Harry being alright with it, they made the effort to extend the hand of friendship to Hermione.

It took nearly the rest of fifth year before Harry and Hermione had been able to get to a comfortable place in their relationship. They had first tip toed around each other, afraid of setting off land mines. But eventually, they settled into a comfortable friendship.

Their sixth year saw the continuation of Harry and Hermione continuing to get closer. Harry was content to take things slow, as he could still see the shadow of that other Harry Potter in Hermoine's mind.

But day by day, as they spent more time together, Hermione slowly worked through her grief and issues with what she suffered, and what she had been forced to do to win the war.

Neville and Luna also helped Hermione accept her place in the new timeline. The three of them, Harry, Neville, and Luna were vastly different people than the ones Hermione knew in her own time.

Harry because of the happenstance of a missing Hermione one morning no longer had a leach making him stupid, so he was an ardent student and loved learning magic along with Hermione.

Neville had gained his confidence much sooner in the timeline, and not through his resistance to the death eaters, but embracing what he loved, plants. So he had a very confident and soothing aura around him.

And Luna was much changed because of her early friendship with Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. She hadn't spent four years being tormented by her housemates with not even a single friend to help her. She still retained her aura of calm, but she was so much more connected with the people around her than she was in Hermione's old timeline. Luna's defense mechanism didn't have to grow thick walls to protect herself.

By the start of summer after their sixth year, Harry finally grew the courage to ask Hermione out. He had been afraid of chasing her off by moving too fast. But it worked out for the two in the end. The time spent being friends with Harry, Neville, and Luna and living her new life with their support had helped Hermione heal from the trauma of the war and everyone she knew dying in her old timeline. She was finally ready to move on when Harry asked her to be his girl.

Their seventh year was exciting for Hermione. In a different timeline they would have been on the run and hunting Horcruxes. In this one, she finally got to fulfill her childhood goal she made when she learned about Hogwarts and magic. She and Harry had made Head boy and girl.

And she could relax and enjoy her life because when Hermione had first traveled back in time, she hadn't only caused Pettigrew and Crouch to be caught, but she had spent her summer before third year destroying the Horcruxes. She destroyed the Horcruxes and defeated Voldemort before he could ever cause Harry to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.

For that act, Harry showered all kinds of appreciation on her. Even though Harry had mostly gotten over the unnatural obsession with "normality" the Dursleys beat into him, he still didn't really like the celebrity obsession over something he felt he hadn't earned. So he was quite happy to avoid the public spotlight.

After Harry and Hermione graduated from Hogwarts with top marks, they spent the first year away traveling together, seeing the sights and learning obscure magic. It was a magical time in their life where they grew even closer together.

When Luna finally graduated, the two couples had weddings back to back. Harry was Neville's best man, and Hermione was the maid of honor for Luna. Then the next week, they switched roles.

And Harry and Hermione made their life one worth living, together.

AN: I know I left a lot of questions up in the air on this one shot. Like, what was the Weasley's reactions? What about Dumbledore not interfering in his life more? What about [fill in the blank]? /shrug, not the story I was focused on, so apologies, you'll have to use your imagination to create your own answers there. (Yeah, I know it's a cop out, hehe)

But seriously, I don't think of Ron (even in this ficlet) as an evil!Ron. Despite growing up poorer than other wizard families, Ron had a pretty good life with family and everything he needed. But in this story when he was away from parental supervision for the first time he made a friend that let him do and get away with pretty much anything because dumb version of Harry didn't want to lose his first friend eva! So over the course of their first two years Ron got used to taking advantage of Harry and kept pushing farther and farther. When Harry suddenly woke up and wasn't going to take it anymore, it pretty much spelled the doom of their friendship. Ron had already crossed the point of no return.

Ron in this fic was pretty much like Draco Malfoy in that respect. With Snape backing Draco and Dumbledore excusing Draco of all his little "shenanigans", Draco was all set to learn that he could do whatever he wanted. Seriously, Dumbledore didn't even step in and slap down Draco when Draco was attempting to kill Dumbledore, even when there was collateral damage of other people being hurt. How much more permissive can you get?

And the final thing I wanted to mention was that as much as I like the time travel fictions, I do recognize that realistically taking someone who time traveled into their 11-13 year old bodies after experiencing a bloody war and killing people isn't likely to be able to easily fill the role of a happy go lucky kid. They will have issues to deal with. And boy did this Hermione have issues to deal with. But then again, so did Harry. So they were two broken people that helped each other heal. I'm glad it worked out for them.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.