Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

It was a hot night in August and not a creature was stirring. But the Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall was in Albus Dumbledore's, loudly and angrily tearing into him while Severus Snape sat back and watched as the stern witch said everything he had wanted to say since arriving at the castle and then some.

They had been in his office before he'd even arrived to the castle. He would have gotten there sooner but he'd been sick three times on the way home and had decided to avoid taking the floo, as his stomach was still queasy and would be queasy for days to come, Vernon Dursley's words would no doubt haunt his every waking and sleeping hour. He was never going to be able to make up the life he had sentenced Harry to all those years ago.

"I told you, they were the worst kind of muggles! I told you, Albus Perciful Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Just how stupid are you? He was treated worse than a damn house elf! I'm sure there would have been endless people who would have taken him in and treated him better than those muggles..."

Minerva continued her long-winded rant, cursing Dumbledore's name, his magic and his existence in general. And he sat there and listened to every word she said, simply nodding because every word she was saying was true. He had clearly made a horrific mistake in his attempt to try and protect Harry from the wizarding world and in turn, had put him in more danger and in the path to more harm than he could have ever imagined.

Gone was the child who would sit on his lap and play with his beard while he and his parents talked and sneak candy to when Lily wasn't looking just to see him smile. Now, that giggling one-year-old was a terrified 11-year-old, scared by the brutal life that he had sentenced him to. Sure, the child had grown up out of the media, without the prying eyes of all the witches and wizards who wanted pictures and autographs or worse to harm him. But instead, the child had been treated as a freak in his own home.

Feeling his stomach lurch again, Dumbledore made a dive for a vase in his office just in time to be sick once again at the pictures that crossed his eyes as he closed them and the guilt that would eat him away until he died. He didn't even care that his two most respected teachers were there as he fell to his knees and began sobbing for the child he'd tried to protect and failed monumentally. He didn't care that they would stare awkwardly at each other as they watched a man, who You-Know_Who himself feared, curled up in a ball sobbing about how he was trying to protect him.

Albus had done what he thought was right. He'd shown up a day or two after dropping Harry at the Dursleys and found him sitting in a high chair eating cereal and babbling happily while he spoke to Mrs Dursley. She'd given him and Dudley some ice cream and ran her hands affectionately through the child's dark, messy hair.

After, he gave her information about how to access emergency money so the child would be taken care of should he get sick or hurt and to make sure he was going to be fine. After the toddlers had finished their ice cream, she handed both boys some brand new toys and set them on the floor to play. Harry had even hugged the woman before playing with his new toy and running around with Dudley in matching outfits.

He'd seen no evidence of abuse or neglect while he had been there that day. Whenever Harry needed something, it was answered. When Harry saught affection, it was met with enthusiasm. And when the child acted out, he was placed in timeout for two minutes and not even because, after a minute, Petunia had pulled him up and hugged him.

He'd even been shown the little cot they'd placed in the room with their own son for Harry to sleep and then Harry had shown him his new toys and shown him his new blanket. Harry was as happy, cheerful and well cared as he had ever seen him.

After watching these interactions, he had no reason to believe the child would receive anything but love and care but he was clearly very wrong. Now, he knew he'd been fooled. They'd clearly treated him lovingly until he'd left their house and that's probably when the mistreatment started. He'd walked into their house filled with grief for the loss of Lily and James, people he'd considered to be like his own children. But the interactions seemed so sincere. Nothing seemed wrong at all.

Petunia had even said she'd grown past her childish feuds and was a different person then she was when Lily was young. In fact, the only person he hadn't seen was Vernon Dursley, who had been at work.

Yes, Albus Dumbledore had been fooled and tricked and there was nothing he could do to make it up to Harry. But that didn't mean he couldn't try. At least for now, he could take a moment to appreciate his best spies, Lucius, Narcissa and Severus who were helping Harry heal. But this time, he was going to be careful. He wasn't going to let that boy suffer again.

Harry spent the night tense and jumpy after hearing his relatives speak today but it was Draco's mere presence that soothed the abused child down. Severus Snape had been there the whole night, ready to give a calming drought at any moment but every time the child would become distressed while the two boys slept, Draco would unconsciously pull him closer which seemed to soothe the child's anxiety.

"Are you sure he's okay to go to Diagon Ally tomorrow? He's still really nervous," Lucius said, watching as his son was able to comfort Harry so effortlessly; it was obvious they were close but they'd never seen Draco so close to anyone before. Except maybe Narcissa but this was different; he seemed to have an unconscious desire to comfort the boy.

"Darling, he's going to have to adapt eventually and preferably before he goes to Hogwarts. Besides, Draco will be there and so will we and Severus," Narcissa said, resting her head on her husband's shoulders as she watched with fascination as her son laid perfectly content to hold the small boy in his arms and sleep more peacefully then he had in a while. "Besides, it's important that he learns to manage any discomfort around people without running away. We'll be gone for a few hours. It should be fine," Narcissa said as she snuggled closer to her husband.

Harry and Draco woke up to find Dobby preparing clothes for Harry to wear. It wasn't easy because he still didn't know how Harry liked to dress and he wanted to make Harry Potter happy.

"Good morning Great Harry Potter and Master Draco. Dobby haves clothes for Great Harry Potter to wear but only if they are good enough," Dobby said, his face splitting into a wide grin as Harry nodded and took the clothes that were easily the most expensive clothes he'd ever worn.

"Thank you, Mr Dobby, sir!" Harry said, running to the bathroom to get dressed, leaving behind a shell-shocked Dobby. The Malfoys were wonderful and respected him and treated him well but he'd never heard of a house elf being called sir. Not that he was upset, he was just very surprised; Harry Potter was going to be a great wizard but clearly, he didn't think much of himself. He decided he would do something about that as soon as possible.

Once the boys were dressed, they made their way down to the dining room to eat but Harry was deep in thought about something.

"Draco, what do house elves do?"

"A house elves cooks, cleans, fixes things and helps out around the house," Draco explained. "They also bring you cookies when the grown-ups are having boring discussions."

"Oh, like me?"

"No, you were forced to do those things. House elves do it because it makes them happy. They use our families magic to stay healthy and they want to make us happy by helping us to be healthy. Your relatives were bad people because we don't starve our house elves or hit them," Draco said, feeling mad at Harry's aunt and uncle for making him think for a second that he might be a house elf.

Breakfast had been a chaotic affair that morning. Harry had to take his potions and Draco got upset when Harry gagged a bit at one of the potions, wanting to make sure they did everything they could do to make it taste better. While the boys ate, Severus gave Harry a necklace with a mild calming drought for while they were out.

"If you feel too scared, rub the dragon's head and it will open so you can drink it. But..."

"Only take it when I need it," Harry repeated back for the fifth time. It was very important he only takes it as he needed so he wouldn't become dependant on the drought. It was important that he be able to learn to control his emotions without the use of potions but for now, he would have them for emergencies.

Travelling by floo network was disorientating for Harry but because he'd been sent through with Draco, it wasn't as bad because the blonde had held on tight to make sure he didn't fall. At first, he'd been terrified at the idea of walking into a fire but Draco stepped in and held his hand out for him to take. Upon seeing that Draco was unharmed, he decided it was safe enough and went along with it.

Upon arriving at the other fireplace, it was hard to stay standing and even harder to stop for giggling from both relief and exhilaration from the very intense trip to the Leaky Cauldron. Once his fits of laughter died down, he was finally able to see where he was. The room looked like a pub from the television programs Uncle Vernon enjoyed watching after work. The main difference, though, was this place was filled with different witches and wizards who were all talking casually. Not one of them even seemed phased to see two eleven-year-old boys stepping out of a fireplace.

Harry made sure to cover his forehead with his hair because he didn't want to be recognised as being a famous wizard. He didn't want to be noticed as anything other than a normal kid getting his things for school with the Malfoys and Severus Snape.

A few minutes later, the fireplace began spitting out redheads until finally, Molly Weasley stepped out with a red-headed girl and Dudley Dursley. The little girl was lightly holding her mum's hand while Dudley was clutching it with an expression that Harry was probably wearing when he stepped through as well.

"See, Dudley, we're here. No big deal," Molly said as she began dusting off Dudley and the little girls clothing.

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Dudley said, blushing. The feeling of the polite words still felt foreign on his tongue but he thought he was doing better at being polite and not demanding things anymore. But, he still had to remind himself to use his manners because as he had learnt last night, the other children didn't even look at him if he tried to boss them around.

"Hello, Harry," Dudley said nervously as he approached his cousin. Mr Weasley had told them that he should approach Harry slowly and carefully so he wouldn't become intimidated.

"Because I used to hit him," Dudley had said, feeling bad once again.

Upon arriving at the Weasleys house, they hadn't been thrilled to learn he used to bully Harry Potter but once they learnt that he was trying to change, they became a little less hostile and a little more cautiously friendly.

His first night at the Borrow was overwhelming because there were so many people and he couldn't eat as much as he was used to and he didn't get away with being rude or demanding. He'd thrown a temper tantrum and quickly discovered that not only did it not work but he was put on time-out afterwards. But after the time-out, Mrs Weasley would sit him down and explain why he'd been punished and why what he did was wrong and afterwards, she'd hug him to let him know he was forgiven.

In one night, he'd apologised for the first time and actually meant it. It had been strange for him to share a room with another child but he quickly learnt it was good when he began having a nightmare about his mum and dad. Ron had sat up with him until his parents came and took Dudley downstairs for some warm milk until he fell back asleep. It was different from when his mum did this because she would have given him whatever he wanted at left him after a bit to go gossip or yell at Harry. But Mrs Weasley sat up with him until he was asleep and then put him back in bed.

"Hello, Dudley," Harry said nervously, unsure what he should say to the boy who looked tired and paler than usual but somehow, he seemed to glow with a kind of happiness Harry had never seen in him before.

Harry was introduced to Molly's children and couldn't believe Dudley had spent a whole night with so many children in the house with him. But he seemed content and happy, so that was good enough for him.

"Let's begin, first, let's take Harry and Dudley into Diagon Ally for the first time," Molly said, causing the Weasley kids and Draco to start beaming with excitement. Clearly, this was a really big deal and the children couldn't wait to share Diagon Ally with them.

"Are there lots of books about magic?" Harry asked, getting the attention of one of the taller red-head boys who smiled at Harry and began telling him how Diagon Ally had one of the biggest wizarding bookshops in Brittan! He seemed to be very proud as he spoke and he was very confident, though a bit cocky, he still seemed very sure of what he was saying and not afraid to speak his mind.

"And I can show you the supplementary books for the school because I'm a prefect!"

"Perfect Prefect..."

"Showing off again.."

The twins started finishing each other sentences until Percy finally smacked them on the arm.

The entrance to Diagon Ally was a brick wall. When Harry and Dudley were at the very front, Molly Weasley used her wand to tap some of the bricks and soon enough, a beautiful shopping village was revealed that was beyond anything Harry or Dudley could have ever imagined. There were dozens of stores, streets lined with people more colourful than they'd ever seen before and store owners pitching sales or talking to customers about magic products. Children could be seen running around in robes while clusters of older witches and wizards could be seen pointing to varies items and windows.

"Mum, can I show Harry and Dudley the brooms? I reckon Dudley hasn't seen one yet. How about you Harry?" Ron asked sounded very excited at the idea of sharing something so cool with children who'd never seen them before. As the youngest boy, he didn't get to teach his siblings much and because Ginny was so close to his age, she was at his level and didn't need him to show her anything. Ron was excited to get the opportunity to be almost like a big brother for a day, helping Harry and Dudley through Diagon Ally. With Draco Malfoy.

"Draco explained them to me but I've never seen one before," Harry said, turning a bit pink at the excitement and attention. He was curious to see a flying broom. Draco had been going on about Quidditch for a while and he was curious to see all it involved. Draco had wanted to take him flying the very first day he was at his house but Severus said Harry was still too weak and probably wouldn't be able to safely fly until at least September and that was if he continued to gain weight at his current rate.

"My brother played Quidditch for Gryffindor when he was at Hogwarts. Charlie was a legend actually; now he works with Dragons in Romania," Ron said smiling at how successful his brother was. His other brother was a curse breaker. They were both doing very well and made him want to do well so he could be just like them but it was a lot to live up to and sometimes he wondered if it was even worth trying, if he could ever be smart and brave like his brothers.

Their first stop had been to pick up their books. Percy was more than happy to help Harry and Dudley pick out books aimed towards muggle-raised students to help them catch up in their classes. When any of them would ask him a question, he would proudly answer in the deepest voice he was capable of. Every question brought more and more confidence to the boy and Harry was happy to ask questions if it made him so happy to answer.

When they went to get their wands, Harry got his wand but when he stepped aside for Ron to get his wand, the boy's ear tips turned red as he told them he'd be using his brother's wand for school. However, Severus Snape was not going to accept that and insisted upon paying for Ron's wand.

"Mr Weasley, if the wand doesn't choose you, it can affect your performance and make it harder for you to learn basic spells, which could make learning the advanced ones harder later on," Severus said, knowing Mrs Weasley was not one to accept charity and Ron looked like he didn't seem thrilled to be accepting the handout either.

"But, I don't want to be a charity case," Ron said frowning.

"Alright, then, I will make a deal with you. I will buy you your wand, in exchange for work in my lab for one evening in September," Severus said, beginning to think of easy tasks he could assign the child that weren't tasks used for detention. He was bargaining with the child, not punishing him.

"Okay, deal!" Ron said, happy to not be receiving a charity but exchanging a service for something he needed. It made him feel like an adult to do that. This was something his family did often to get their things for so many children for school.

He knew they were getting money from the ministry for Dudley's food, clothes and anything else he was going to need but he knew his parents were going to use that money for Dudley only. He'd heard his parents talking about it the night before and about how they were worried that Dudley wouldn't get along well with his siblings. He could tell the larger blonde boy was making an effort to get along with everyone but he could see that he had trouble sometimes with patience and sharing.

By the time they left Diagon Ally to go to supper at the Leaky Cauldron, Ron and Draco were debating professional Quidditch teams while Harry and Dudley watched their animated discussion with amused looks on their faces. Occasionally, the two boys would completely forget that neither Harry nor Dudley knew anything about Quidditch beside the fact that it was a sport played on brooms and would ask one of them to back him up with stats, only to be met with blank, confused expressions.

Ginny would throw in her opinions marking whoever she was agreeing with gloat while the other person would roll his eyes and began throwing off stats in direct contradiction.

At dinner, Ron and Draco continued their discussion when Harry and Dudley began talking about magic and how different their lives were now that they were both in magic homes.

"And the dishes, they actually wash themselves. Its amazing and they have a clock that tracks if their kids are in danger, at school, sleeping and other things," Dudley said between bites.

"The Malfoys have that too for Draco. It's got his picture on the hand and its got an alarm for if he's in danger," Harry said, grabbing a fry. This was the first time he had ever sat down and eaten a meal at the same table with Dudley and it was nice to talk to the boy when he wasn't insulting him or threatening to beat him up. In fact, he found his cousin to be quite entertaining and the fact that he was just as new to magic as Harry, made him enjoy his presence a little bit more. Things were still a bit tense between them and there were still awkward silences but those were becoming fewer as they got to know each other a little better.

Arthur and Lucius had slipped off a while ago to talk about an assignment he was doing for Dumbledore and had returned to find his son and Ron Weasley arguing happily about brooms and Harry and his cousin were sitting at another table with Percy Weasley going over Hogwarts a History. Percy looked to be in his element as he went over Hogwarts history with two curious muggle raised boys who were hanging off of his every word.

Harry would point to a picture and ask a question and Percy would straighten a little bit so he could speak in a deep voice. Yes, they were all thrilled in their current activities, he thought as he watched Fred and George read a joke book and Ginny Weasley was fixated on a broom in a catalogue while taking notes on the speeds and prices.

Molly was sitting with Narcissa, comparing different charms in effect for keeping their kids safe without coddling them to the point where they freaked out over a simple bump or bruise.

When they separated for the night, Harry promised to write Dudley often and Dudley had promised he would find out more about Bill and Charlie's jobs because they had some incredible jobs but neither boy knew what those jobs actually involved; just that they both were considered high-risk jobs.

Back at the Malfoy Manor, Harry spends the evening looking through his books, admiring his new robes and studying his things for potions class until he falls into a deep sleep when the exhaustion from such a busy, overwhelming day but before he goes to sleep, he smiles because not once did he feel nervous or anxious around his cousin.

Hey everyone. I'm not sure how often I'll be updating now that school has gone back in but upon some reviewing of my work I've gutted my former writing techniques and I'm working on more thorough and consise writing and planning methods from my stories. As I test them out, I'm going to limit the amount of stories I work on. This is one of my higher priority stories, so hopefully it will be updated soon. :)