A Chance at Life

A Chance at Life

Chapter 10: Back at the Ministry (Part 2)

February 4 (continued)

“You don’t have to wait for me. I don’t know how long this is going to take and I’m sure you’re both hungry by now. Maybe you can eat lunch out today if you want, did you bring your money pouch?” Harry asked Eileen. The Potter case will be starting in 15 minutes and he saw no reason to make them wait for him.

Severus spoke up before she could say anything one way or the other. “I would rather eat at home, let’s just go. I’ve had enough of these Ministry numskulls.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t say anything else when Eileen agreed. They left quickly, not wanting to spend any more time at the Ministry than they had to. In truth, Harry was glad to have this time to center himself before he faced the next case.

“Mr. Harry Potter, may I have a word with you before we reenter the courtroom?” He heard Harold Potter ask in a low voice, standing a little too close for comfort.

“You have made your opinion of my person quite clear, Mr. Potter. I assure you I have nothing to say to my accuser, nor is there anything to discuss that will not be cleared up at court. Excuse me.” With that Harry walked away without waiting for a response.

He didn’t know what Harold really thought about him but it didn’t matter. He didn’t want anything to do with his ‘grandfather’; he had too much going on to over-complicate things unnecessarily. But if he can pull this off, it will help cement his identity in this reality and keep suspicion at bay when he had to deal with Dumbledore later on.

Plus he needed a moment to calm down from what he’d found earlier that day.

He had known that Tobias was an unpleasant character but he had not expected to find such evil when he’d looked into his mind. He had felt such overwhelming rage when he’d learned about what he’d done.

Professor Snape, his mentor and almost parent, had been a much tormented man. He had never spoken to Harry about his childhood or why he had joined the Death Eaters, but the few things that he’d let slip let Harry know that he had not done so of his own free will. Though Harry had no doubt that the Professor cared for him, Snape himself had not been one for demonstrations of affection or poignant personal discussions. He had always been available if Harry needed advice or needed to talk to someone, but he had rarely spoken about his personal life; which is why Harry had been instantly overwhelmed by a blazing titillation of rage and pain when he had seen Voldemort in Tobias’ memory. Voldemort already had the red eyes and bony, unattractive features but he wasn’t the snake-faced Voldemort he’d known. It was a bit worrying that he was already gathering new recruits but not unexpected, Harry had known that Voldemort had begun gathering followers possibly as early as 1965; he’d just hoped he would have more time to get organized.

Tobias, the fiend had not only become a Death Eater but he’d also promised Severus to him in return for financial security for the next 20 years. He had disposed of his only son as if he were nothing more than chattel.

Indeed, Tobias’ mind had been such a cold twisted mass of malevolence that he still felt tainted by it. As if the man’s turpitude had been an actual physical entity, it had left behind a repulsive residue in Harry’s mind that he could not easily rid himself of. The only thing that had stopped him from killing him on the spot had been young Severus’ calming presence. Just knowing that this Severus will have a choice, that he will never be given over to Voldemort, had calmed him down enough to continue with the court proceedings.

Harry knew that Voldemort was not someone accepting of failure. Tobias was sure to resort to desperate measures now that he’d lost his final chance to establish an influential link to his son and Harry was determined to do everything in his power to assure their safety. He will have to talk to Eileen about what he’d learned but he wasn’t sure how much to tell Severus. He didn’t think it necessary for him to know the particulars of his father’s ‘transaction’ as long as he realized how dangerous Tobias really was.

He checked the time, it was time to begin.

This time, the only ones present were the two officers from the Office of Family Law and the Court Scribe, along with the two Potters. “Charge of Identity Theft by Family Head, Harold Potter, today is the fourth of February and for the record: Presiding today is Officer Benjamin Bones, Head of the Office of Family Law & Procedure; the Attending is Officer Dominic Brown; and the Court Scribe is Robert Diggory.”

Brown started off the hearing swiftly, since everyone already knew each other. “Mr. Harold Potter, as a Family Head you have the power to act with legal authority should you feel you or your family has been wronged/endangered. However, let me remind you that if we proceed to an investigation due to your accusations against Mr. Harry Potter and your accusations are thereafter proven baseless, you will lose the right to legal prosecution of anyone else for the same transgression for the next 10 years. Do you still wish to accuse Mr. Harry Potter of Identity Theft?”

“No, I do not.”

Everyone was surprised at that pronouncement, though Harry’s expression didn’t change other than a slight narrowing of eyes.

“You have found something negating his culpability?” Officer Bones inquired with interest, it was not everyday such charges were recanted.

“More like I have found evidence that he is under an assumed identity. At first I had believed he was trying to pass himself off as me. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has tried to impersonate an established pureblood through the use of potions or dark arts for nefarious purposes. As I am sure you realize his name is a common moniker for ‘Harold’ and when I first met him he looked like a younger version of me; so I filed a complaint with your office as a precaution. However, soon after, as I tried to gather evidence for my case I realized this was not accurate. In fact, no one even knew of a Harry Potter and the more I tried to find out about him the more it became obvious that no one even knew him. Still, even with this peculiarity I was ready to dismiss all charges completely today…until I saw that he bears the Potter Blood Mark.”

Harry arched an eyebrow, he’d never heard of a Potter Blood Mark and he wondered why no one had mentioned him. He had been at the Ministry twice before and spent a lot of time at Diagon Alley when he’d first arrived, after all.

Then again, he had not really gone anywhere after that; everything that was needed at home was bought by Noodle or Eileen and now Kura as well. He also placed all bets by owl post, something which had become even easier when Master Grod had taken over management of his account soon after he opened it.

“Potter Blood Mark? What is it exactly; I’m not familiar with the term?” Officer Bones asked for clarification with a furrowed brow.

“There is no reason why you should. Only Potter Family Heads are ever told about it, for they are they only once with the ability to see it. The Blood Mark appears on everyone of Potter blood-”

Harry snorted and then sneered at him with disdain. “If you think I am going to sit here and listen to you spout about invisible marks only you can see-”

“Mr. Harry Potter please, you will be allowed to voice your opinions at a later time. I understand you are muggle-born and not completely familiar with our world but what Mr. Harold Potter is saying is not unreasonable.”

“Oh really? And just how do you know this when you had not even heard of it before he mentioned it?” Harry demanded rationally.

Silence.

“Muggle-born? You are claiming to be a muggle-born?” Harold asked in astonishment.

“I AM muggle-born and proud of it…Another reason why I found your accusation insulting.”

“That’s ridiculous; you don’t act like a muggle-born at all! Everyone here can see that!”

“I don’t know what you mean by that and as I have already said, I am muggle-born. A true muggle-born, actually.”

“True muggle-born, what do you speak of? A muggle-born is a muggle-born, and you are not one of them. You’re too powerful and you act too much like a pureblood…the very idea is absurd!” Harold said with conviction, the Officers and Scribe didn’t say anything but it was apparent that they agreed with him.

“A true muggle-born is someone with no magical roots whatsoever. The so called muggle-borns that come into the wizarding world are squib descendants, not true muggle-borns.” Harry said with cool confidence as he leaned back on his chair.

“Preposterous, I don’t know where you came up with these outlandish ideas but it doesn’t change the fact that you are one of us. You bear a Potter Blood Mark, which means you are a half-blood at the very least and that you fall under the protection of the Potter family, my family.”

Harry glared at him and Officer Bones finally intervened before things got even more heated.

“Please, both of you, calm down. Let me see if I have this straight. Mr. Harold Potter has withdrawn the Identity Theft charge….and is now accusing Mr. Harry Potter of sustaining a false identity…because he won’t accept that he is not a muggle-born and is in fact a member of the wizarding Potter family - do I understand this correctly?” He asked with plain incredulity.

“Correct, and you know I am within my rights to claim my family as such. As a Head of Family it is my right and indeed my duty to see that every member of my family is taken care of. I have identified this man as a member of the Potter family and I demand you make this clear to him. It is obvious he’s a close relative of mine just by looking at him!”

“Actually, he does not look like you all that much, other than the hair color…” Officer Brown finally butted in and Harold glared daggers at him.

“I don’t know what he did to himself but when I met him his eyes were both the same color and he didn’t have that tattoo on his face.” Harold said stiffly, disapproval clear in his voice.

“It’s not a tattoo, it’s a scar and the less I look like you the better.” Harry said, standing up and ignoring their gaping expressions. “Now, since this hearing is nothing but a travesty of the law, I’m leaving.”

However, before he could reach the doors someone sent a spell right at them and magically sealed them.

Now, Harry was really getting angry. This trial was pure folly, nothing like what he had imagined or planned for. He had used the little time he’d been allowed to ready a defense against Identity Theft, not to deal with a stuck-up pureblood seeking to have him under his thumb just because he was powerful wizard and looked enough like a Potter to pass for family. Harry knew that heads of magical families like Harold had authority and a certain amount of power over their families, including the adults, and Harry refused to live under the thumb of a conceited prick.

“We are not finished here, and whether you believe this to be foolish or not Mr. Harold Potter’s request is decisively legitimate. While you are within your right to ignore your family, if that is indeed the case, it is still illegal to impersonate something/someone you are not. Now, my records only indicate that you registered as a muggle-born and a British wizard, 19 years of age. You took your N.E.W.T.’s here but no O.W.L.’s and we have no history of your parentage, profession, schooling, or any other family relations other than your marriage to Ms. Eileen Prince. You did all of this within a few days in early January, surely you can see why Mr. Harold Potter’s claims make sense?”

“No I don’t. My identity was established when I registered with the Ministry, there is nothing else you need to know.” Harry said, completely exasperated. He had been keeping his mental shields up all morning but considering the situation he decided to lower them and focus on Harold before he decided on a course of action.

What he found surprised him. Harold felt frustrated about Harry’s denial but he truly believed himself to be doing the right thing.

“Let me think for a moment please.” Harry told the others in the room and faced the courtroom doors to ponder this new turn of events. He had no plans to build any sort of relationship with the Potter family and still thought that would be the best course of action. However, if Harold felt so strongly about family ties, how could he get him to desist when he could see the Blood Mark?

This was not a problem he had anticipated having to deal with, he could somewhat forgive Harold’s actions because acting like a conceited peacock was typical of purebloods but it didn’t do anything endear him to him in any way. In fact, Harry couldn’t wait to get out of there; he was tired, angry/annoyed, hungry, and just wanted to go home.

In the end, he decided to leave Harold for later and just concentrate on proving his muggle-born status. He turned to address the court once more. “If I can prove I am muggle-born, will that make you cease this foolish charade?”

“Yes.” Bones replied in a steady tone but Harry could still feel his irritation with him; he believed Harold was right. Harry raised his mental shields once more and spoke with composed resignation.

“I would like to call Master Grod to testify in my favor then. Just let me know when the next court date will be, to finish-“

“NO. Is this Master Grod a goblin? I don’t care who it is…we need to finish this now. I will pay whatever I have to; just get this cleared up now!” Harold exclaimed, a vein visible at his temple.

Two hours later, a much calmer Harry saw a very unhappy looking Grod enter the courtroom. Harold seemed about ready for an apoplexy while the Ministry personnel, though trying to keep a professional air, still looked plain bored.

Harry stood up to greet the disgruntled Goblin. “Master Grod, please accept my apologies. These wizards won’t accept that I’m a true muggle-born and you are the only one that knows this fact beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“Well you’re a smart bastard then. Goblins are under a Truth Seal, we cannot lie while inside the physical boundaries of the Ministry; an insurance policy should Goblin integrity concerning wizarding funds ever come into question…” Harry frowned, he had not known that.

“I find such an act horribly insulting,” he told Master Grod and bowed once again, this time deeper. “I had not known about that, I only requested your presence as my witness. Will you please join me for a meal after we get out of here? I know a good restaurant with a very unique outlook concerning their clientele’s victuals.” He ignored the gasps and animated mutterings of the other wizards in the room as he focused on Master Grod’s inscrutable expression.

Master Grod finally nodded and walked up to the other wizards. “Mr. Potter is not lying. He is in fact a true muggle-born.”

“You mean true muggle-borns actually exist?” Bones asked, astonished. The others were just as shocked, for they all knew the Goblin couldn’t lie.

“Of course. Mr. Potter is the first true-muggle born to open an account with Gringotts since Rowena Ravenclaw. The ones you view as muggle-born are in fact half-bloods, for they are descendents of squibs with, obviously, magical roots. Unlike Ministry Blood-Linage Parchment, ours go all the way back to a witch/wizard’s first magical ancestor, not just the first 14 generations.” No one could form a coherent sentence after that. Bones kept opening his mouth but no words came out while Harold kept muttering about how Harry didn’t act like a muggle-born.

“Just how is a muggle-born supposed to act, Mr. Potter?” Harry finally asked, since everyone had seemed to focus so much on this one particular idea. “Do you even know any so-called ‘muggle-borns’? Did you expect me to act like a frightened idiot, ignorant of this world and everything in it? I, just like any other muggle-born, have the ability to read. The truth is that you probably already know a muggle-born but are probably passing themselves off as a half-blood just to keep prejudice at bay. Whole libraries have been published concerning wizarding history, etiquette, and customs; anyone with a grain of intelligence realizes it makes sense for anyone to familiarize themselves with the world they are expected to live in. We are not the weak childish idiots you believe us to be. I want nothing from prejudiced, narrow-minded fools like you or anyone else that shares your views. If you’re too stuck on your ways to see the truth right in front of your eyes, then you’re all even bigger fools than I thought.”

With that Harry overpowered the seal on the doors and stepped out, followed by the cackling Gringotts Goblin.

No one bothered trying to stop him.

HPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSS

Chapter 11: Meeting Hoochs

February 13

It had been almost ten days since the Ministry hearing and the gossip mill was still going strong. Somehow a reporter had gotten wind of the existence of ‘true’ muggle-borns and the British wizarding world was buzzing with the discovery. Now everyone was moving heaven and earth trying to find the ‘only’ true-muggle-born among them; according to Eileen the Daily Prophet had even gone so far as to offer a reward for any information concerning his whereabouts. Severus thought the whole thing was a riot.

Harry just ignored it. He already had enough to do training Severus, evading Harold, finishing his carvings, and setting up the final security wards around their property.

After a very enlightening meal with Nagnot that day (they were on a first-name basis now), Harry had returned home to talk things over with Eileen. She had been horrified by Tobias’ actions but had taken the danger to her son very seriously. She had even started joining them in the evenings for training. In a way Harry was pleased about it, for it brought them together as a family and didn’t make Eileen feel so isolated anymore. He felt like they were truly becoming close friends now. Harry now tried not to call Severus ‘Sev’ anymore, in an effort not to emphasize his closeness to Severus, but it still slipped out from time to time. She still became sad when Severus didn’t let her touch his hair or hug him for too long, but things were going well overall.

Now, if only the gossiping would stop he would be even happier.

HPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSS

February 14 (Wednesday, 1am)

Harry had promised Eileen that he’d gather the Deadly Nightshade this full moon for her, though they’d decided not to tell Severus to keep him from throwing a tantrum. Harry had gone in enough potion gathering expeditions with Professor Snape that he’d memorized where the herb grew; the Forbidden Forest was one of the few places in Scotland where it grew in abundance and he knew the forest well enough to be relatively safe while in there at night.

He didn’t care for potions, he only brewed them when he absolutely had to and he had learned so much about the subject because it had been a necessity, but he had no love for the art. However, he did understand his family’s love for potion brewing and was happy to be able to keep them happy. Harry actually knew enough to hold his own in a conversation with a potion’s master as long as it didn’t get too specialized, so he was able to at least discuss the subject well enough with his family to keep them content.

He was wearing daggers on both legs, his wand was in his arm holster, and he was already carrying Gryffindor’s sword on his hip. He also had the herb pouch tied to his belt. He knew he could not physically touch the plants or they would be useless as potion ingredients, but he had enough practice at it that he was not worried about the task itself. He was far more worried about what he might encounter in the forest instead.

By now, Harry was well known by the bigger animals there, including the thestrals, unicorns, acromantulas, and the occasional hippogriff. Surprisingly, he hadn’t run into any trouble while he gathered the plants. He’d sensed the presence of two beings near him but they had no malice he could detect, so he pretended not to know they were there.

He had just finished his task and was about to head home when he heard a howl…a werewolf howl. He felt the fear from the two beings near him and quickly tied the pouch back onto his belt before calling out to them. “Youngsters, come here please, there is a werewolf nearby. I will see you to your land’s borders, hurry!”

Harry tried to sound reassuring and calm, so as not to panic the young centaurs (he thought they were centaurs anyway). He heard rustling in front of him and then he saw the upper body of a terrified red-headed centaur-child, followed by a golden-haired one.

“Come! I will escort you to the nearest boundary; there should be a guard near enough to show you back home.” Harry told them as he started running as fast as he could, he knew they would have no problem keeping up with him. He then left the narrow trail he’d been using and plunged into the dense trees on his right side, trying to get the youngsters home by the shortest route he knew.

About 40 feet from his destination he saw and heard an arrow embed itself into the tree trunk right beside his head.

“…Guard, I found these younglings in the forest, please see them home, there is a werewolf coming this way!” He called out; though he couldn’t see the guard, he knew he was there. The young centaurs had bolted right past him when they’d seen the arrow, so he turned around and was about to head back to the trail in order to apparate home when he had the sudden impulse to turn into his animagus form. He didn’t wonder about it, he just did it… just in time to get barreled over by the biggest werewolf he’d ever laid eyes on.

Harry had never seen one so big, he was bigger than Greyback, and he’d been bigger than Moony, who’d been on the large end of the scale. Harry quickly tucked his tail between his legs and lowered his belly to the ground, whining softly to show he was no threat. He’d never been so relieved that he had a canine animagus form, at least this way he could somewhat understand the werewolf’s vocalizations.

Harry laid there on the ground while the werewolf paced around him, sniffing him here and there. He even had a unique coloring for a werewolf, a dark golden brown; most werewolves’ coloring ranged from almost-white-grey to black. Then they were joined by another werewolf, this one smaller and leaner, with silver-grey fur.

At least Harry thought it was another werewolf until he saw her eyes, her pupils were elliptical - like a cat’s, and he realized she was a lycan. As she approached, the werewolf took a step back and barked excitedly at her. She sniffed at Harry as well and looked him over for a long minute before nodding her head and nosing his side to get him up. Harry got up hesitantly, not really sure what they wanted with him, but he didn’t want to try running away unless he absolutely had to, nor did he wish to hurt them. So, flanked by the lycan and werewolf, they moved back to the trail Harry had been heading to earlier.

The lycan transformed into her human form; Harry politely kept his eyes firmly on her golden ones and away from her nudity. He recognized her: she was a young Madam Hooch. Her light-grey hair was longer and looked more like molten steel than the chrome color he remembered, but he was sure it was her.

“You have been around our kind before.” It was a statement not a question. “You are not afraid of us and you were not surprised by my transformation.” She continued as she scratched the werewolf behind an ear. She wasn’t very tall, probably standing around 5’5” while the werewolf was about 5 feet from paw to shoulder, his head lowered for her to reach his ear easily.

“My brother likes you, which you should be proud of, he has never allowed anyone near him in this form, other than me of course. Will you run with us tonight, wolf?” She asked politely and Harry seriously considered the offer. He missed his old runs with Moony and he wanted to learn more about Hooch. In his original timeline she had disappeared as soon as Voldemort’s return had been acknowledged by the Ministry. Everyone had assumed she’d been another early casualty of war but now he wasn’t so sure about that. He accepted.

He had fun unlike he’d had in months. He enjoyed training Severus and Eileen but it couldn’t really be compared to this. This running around, playful tussling, and general roughhousing reminded him of the good times he’d spent with Moony, but this werewolf was refreshingly different as well. He was much more playful and wasn’t afraid to toss him around. The lycan simply sat back and watched them, the few times Harry had tried to include her the werewolf had growled at him and placed himself between them until Harry gave up trying to approach her. They had finally fallen asleep a few hours before dawn in one big mass of fur, somehow with Harry in the middle once again. He woke up later when he heard pained whimpering from the werewolf beside him.

Dawn had come. He stayed beside the werewolf, nosing him gently to let him know he wasn’t alone. Remus had always told him how physical contact made the transformation less painful. When it was over Harry transformed back as well. He heard a gasp but didn’t acknowledge it as he looked around for something to transfigure and expanded his senses to see if he could trust these people. He relaxed a little more when he couldn't find anything threatening though.

Harry soon found two twigs big enough and silently transfigured them into two large cloaks. He threw one in the lycan’s direction and knelt next to the werewolf to cover him up. He was a young man, about 19 or 20, maybe about 6 feet tall with light golden-brown hair and sharp features but still handsome.

“We have never seen you here before.” She stated as he heard her putting on the cloak, the question clear.

“I’m new around here; Harry Potter, muggle-born.” He clarified so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings. He gave her a small formal bow, wand-arm behind his back and waited to see if she would introduce herself.

She looked at his face for a few seconds longer and then picked up her sleeping brother with ease, carefully carrying him over one shoulder. “Follow us please. I am Rolanda Hooch and this is my brother, Kyle. I’m a 5th year at Hogwarts; my brother just prefers to spend his full moons with me though he’s already graduated…my brother’s really gonna beat himself up for tiring himself out so much he missed seeing you in your true form. I’m sure he would like to meet with you again...” She said with a mischievous laugh.

“I am not opposed to the idea…How about I meet him for lunch in a couple days? I will be at the Hogshead this Friday from 12-2. Considering he’s unconscious at the moment, it will be up to him if he chooses to show up or not.” Harry proposed. After all, the more allies he had in his corner the less they were likely to be tempted by Voldemort.

As he headed for home he wondered what Eileen and Severus will think about his new acquaintances.

HPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSS

Harry was a soft-hearted idiot! Severus was so furious he was shaking. He could not believe what Harry was doing, had he completely lost his mind?!

When Harry had told them he had an appointment for lunch on Friday he had remained silent though he hadn’t been too happy with idea. But then Harry had started spouting off about werewolves and lycans and Severus had to contain the urge to strangle him.

He’d already felt a bit apprehensive when Harry had started talking about becoming friends with the centaurs, and he’d even accepted his friendship with the goblin, but this confirmed his suspicions: Harry was blind when it came to how dangerous magical beings could be. Perhaps it was because he was muggle-born, maybe he didn’t want to believe what was common knowledge but that didn’t change the fact that he was placing himself in dangerous situations for no good reason!

Just because a dark creature didn’t kill you on the spot doesn’t mean he wants to be you best friend…and now Harry had a lunch date with a werewolf!

Severus had made up his mind: Harry was not going and that was final!

HPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSS

February 16

Eileen sighed before knocking and entering her son’s room. Severus had been ignoring everyone the last two days, though he did answer Kura every once in a while. Eileen had tried everything she could think of to get him to talk to her, but whatever it was he found so unforgivable about werewolves, he was keeping to himself.

The past two days had been torturous and Eileen had stopped trying to intercede between Harry and Severus. Once Harry had given up trying to talk sense into him and he had resorted to ignoring Severus in return. They were both acting like petulant children, but in a strange way she felt comforted by Harry’s behavior. It showed her that he wasn’t perfect and that for all his maturity he still had a little more growing up to do. It also made her happy that he felt comfortable enough with them to show this part of himself.

“Honey, can we talk? Harry just left.” Severus was sitting on his bed, reading Born a Human-Vampire: A Guide; he had taken to rereading that book whenever he was frustrated or angry.

Severus put down the book and looked at her a moment before nodding.

“Was he still angry at me?” He asked her, looking depressed.

“I don’t think he was ever angry, just frustrated. What is the problem?” Eileen asked him as she sat down on the end of the bed. Severus huffed, jumped out of bed and started pacing in front of her.

“Harry! I mean, what kind of person goes to a forest during a full moon to collect potion ingredients and then ends up spend the night running around with a couple of werewolves? What was he thinking? Where is his sense of self-preservation?!”

Eileen chose not to comment and just allowed him to vent, it seemed like he needed it. She had never seen him so emotional before. He was waving his arms around erratically and almost stomping his feet in frustration.

“…and he ignored my advice not to go! He doesn’t know anything about this random werewolf. What if he doesn’t show up alone? What if he gets kidnapped, or attacked, or hurt?!...and then…” He trailed off and stopped moving, looking at the floor, his shoulders hunching as he sighed.

“He laughed at me…I asked to go with him so I could protect him and he laughed at me.” His voice so low it was almost a whisper and though Eileen couldn’t see his face, she could hear the hurt in his voice.

“Honey, I’m sure he wasn’t laughing at you.”

“It’s not that, I know he wasn’t making fun of me…It’s just…he dismissed my offer to help without a second thought. Why is it so absurd to want to protect him like he protects us? I know I’m still young but that doesn’t mean I will just let him go off and do stupid things on his own. If I can’t stop him going into danger, I want to least be there to make sure he doesn’t get himself killed.”

“Severus, I know you hate to be reminded of this but you are only a child, and Harry is more than capable of taking care of himself.”

“I still say he’s still acting like a fool but I won’t always be a weak kid.” He turned to face her with determination burning in his eyes. “Soon, I will be able to protect him and when that time comes, I won’t allow him to push me away again.”

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AN: Sorry this chapter is shorter than I had planned; I was going to add the lunch meeting but ran into a bit of a dilemma. I had thought to write it from Harry’s POV but then I thought it would be easier to introduce the Hooch family through Kyle…so which POV do you guys want, Harry’s or Kyle’s?

Please rate it even if you choose not to review, thank you! ^_^