Severus returned home just in time for dinner, and the first thing Remus said was that they'd heard from Potter. "He's fine, they're all fine," he assured. Severus felt the dread inside him build with every word as Remus relayed what had happened in the woods.
"Narcissa is well," he informed his partner and Black when Remus mentioned Harry's worries. He'd been to see her and Draco earlier, while Lucius was at the Ministry. "Shaken, but well. She was indeed part of the group involved in the muggle-baiting. She believes the whole thing was Lucius' idea — or at least, he was involved in the planning. She said he didn't tell her a thing beforehand, but he knew exactly where to go when it started." It was exactly the sort of thing Lucius Malfoy would do, wanting to cause chaos and horror at such a public event. If he and the other loyal Death Eaters were getting the same signs he was, they would of course get braver and bolder in their hateful acts. If they believed the Dark Lord was on his way to returning, they would want to drum up as much fear as possible before that day arrived. "This is only the beginning, you realise."
The two Gryffindors looked grim, hardly touching their dinner. "Snape," Black said eventually. "I know we have a difficult history." Severus snorted; that was the biggest understatement he'd heard in a while. "And I know we still have our differences, despite the things that bring us together." Here he glanced at Remus, who bumped his knee against Severus' under the table. "But please, for Remus if not for me, please look after Harry when he's back at school. He can't defend himself properly, not with Dumbledore lurking over his shoulder. If anything were to happen to him…" He didn't need to finish; it would devastate both men if something were to befall Potter. "Just, please. He needs all the allies he can get. I can't be there for him, but you can."
Severus pursed his lips. Were they really going to make him say it? "I'll admit, I have come to… tolerate the boy," he said, as if the very confession pained him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Remus try to hide a fond smile. Damnable wolf. "This summer has made me realise he's not as arrogant as I initially believed. When he's not being antagonised, he's… not terrible." There, that was as good as they were getting. Truthfully, Severus actually quite liked the Potter boy now; he was unexpectedly witty, and his Slytherin tendencies showed through in interesting — and sometimes amusing ways. He now saw what Remus said when he said Potter — Harry — was so much like Lily. Sometimes his words, those green eyes staring back at him… it was like having her back.
"I'll watch over him, as faithfully as you would," he vowed to the pair of Gryffindors. Not only because he knew his life would not be worth living should Remus hear he'd let something happen to the boy on his watch. He didn't want any harm to come to Harry either. "I will still need to keep up appearances, but his safety is my priority." He'd risked his life for the boy before, back when h e hated him. He could certainly do it now Harry was tolerable.
"Thank you," Black breathed, his eyes grateful. "Snape… Severus. Thank you."
It was strange, hearing his given name come from the Gryffindor's lips without a hint of mockery or derision. At the beginning of the summer they'd agreed to be cordial, for Remus' sake, but the more time they spent together the more Severus was realising that Black wasn't the bullheaded little brat he had been when they were teenagers. Harry wasn't the only one who had become tolerable.
"We are on the same side, Sirius," he said, the name feeling odd on his tongue. "If war is to come, then there is no place for childhood grudges here."
Sirius nodded to him across the table, the understand passing between them. Beside him, Remus beamed with pride.
"I knew you two would warm up to each other eventually," he said fondly. Severus scoffed.
They weren't friends, by any stretch of the imagination. But maybe between Remus and Harry and the oncoming darkness, they could be something like it. Despite the hectic start, the rest of Harry's time at the Burrow was much the same as it always was. Mr Weasley and Percy were barely present for the week that followed the World Cup, drowning in work and howlers and more scathing articles from Rita Skeeter. Harry felt bad for them; even Percy didn't deserve that.
Having the two eldest Weasley boys around was a nice change in the dynamic, too. They weren't always home, taking the opportunity to visit British friends they hadn't seen in a while, but when they were around they were usually fairly game for whatever shenanigans the teenagers had planned. Harry made sure to spend plenty of time talking to them, remembering what Hannah had said the year before about the two likely being the next heirs to the Weasley and Prewett seats. He never quite managed to bring up the subject with them, but he got to know them well enough to tell they were probably trustworthy.
The one thing Harry couldn't quite get used to was not using his wand. He'd gotten so used to being able to cast spells without hesitation at Seren Du, he kept finding himself with his wand in his hand before he could catch the habit. It earned him some odd looks from Ron and Hermione, but Harry suspected they just thought he was jumpy after the Cup.
Whatever time Ron and Hermione had spent together before Harry had arrived at the Burrow, they'd clearly used it to talk through the last of the issues they'd had from the previous year, when Ron had accused Hermione's cat of eating Scabbers and been awful to her for half the school year. Then again, finding out that rat was actually a Death Eater in disguise had probably gone a long way to easing that argument. Things were almost back to normal between the trio — except Harry was still keeping secrets, and Ron and Hermione didn't seem to realise that he'd grown up some in the last year while they'd been busy arguing. Ron didn't like it when Harry shot down all his disparaging remarks about Slytherins, and Hermione had nearly exploded when Harry had refused her offer to help him finish his summer homework.
"I got it all done at the Dursleys'," he insisted. "Thanks, but you guys go ahead." The offer had only come when Ron had realised he still had a stack of essays to complete, and Hermione had pestered him into getting them done before they were on the train to school.
"I can go over them for you, then," Hermione replied dismissively. Harry bristled at the insinuation that his work wasn't good enough.
"I don't need you to go over them for me, Hermione, but thank you." He tried to stay polite. Even if she didn't know he'd already had Remus go over his summer homework, who was she to just assume his work would need checking and correcting?
"Don't be silly, Harry, I really don't mind. You'll be better off for it." "I'm happy with my work how it is," Harry replied between clenched teeth. "I'm going to go find the twins." He slipped out of the room before she could argue with him further, rolling his eyes when Ron complained about having to study when Harry wasn't.
Last year, Hermione had been too busy with her overloaded timetable and Buckbeak's appeal to care much about Harry's grades. If she was going to spend the whole next year insisting he needed her help, ignoring the fact that he was clearly capable by himself, they were going to have issues.
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