Chapter 29

In the last days of the school year, there was a clear difference between the two separate groups of the second year Hufflepuff, the death of Hanna's mother marked a before and after in the relationships between the two groups... a rapprochement on both sides. From the first time they arrived at school, they came face to face with the consequences of the war and that made them grow in a certain way... they realized that the war was not something distant and foreign to them, on the contrary, and that trying to ignore it could only bring more pain in the long run than they would originally suffer.

So, it wasn't very difficult to see the two groups together hanging out or studying for the upcoming exams... that didn't mean that they no longer socialized with their other friends, on the contrary, they were too close friends for that, but that did mean that they spent less time together.

Then there was the arrival of the final exams and the considerable nervousness that gripped the entire school, students and Professors alike. The students went into a frenzy of study to be able to pass their exams, while the Professors found themselves in the very arduous task of preparing for said exams (something more complicated than it might seem at first glance), and therefore, it was very easy to find many people who had taken up the library as their almost permanent residence, or in the case of Harry and his friends, in the young Hufflepuff's not so 'secret' room anymore.

It was during this period of time that the Professors informed the young Hufflepuff that since he had not finished the sixth year syllabus, it would be madness to let him take the end-of-year exams.

"You're halfway through your sixth year curriculum right now, Harry." Professor Sprout said, putting formalities aside as she poured her student a cup of tea. "That in itself is quite an achievement considering you've only been studying sixth year for three months, but you're still not ready to take the corresponding exams.

"I know, Professor. " The boy said as he accepted the cup. " You warned me that I probably wouldn't have time to finish the syllabus before the end of the course."

"What I really wanted to tell you is that we thought that if you study hard during the summer so that you don't catch a cold, it's very likely that by the time the school year starts again, we'll finish in no time." Here the woman gave a knowing smile. "So you can now think about what you want to do for the rest of your life... you have very little time left to think about it."

After that conversation, Harry briefly considered what he wanted to do after school... after all, he still had one year left to finish but he had practically finished his preliminary academic training. He expressed his doubts to Ginna, but she only smiled and told him enigmatically not to worry about it, that he would make a good choice, and the boy, not for the first time, cursed his inability to see his own future, that would surely help him solve all his doubts about the future... Well, there was always Remus.

On June 30th, she caught the boy staring at his trunk with annoyance. He didn't want to go home... his parents wouldn't even notice he was there and if they did, it would be to reproach him for not having interceded for his brother when they punished him. It had cost him, but he finally understood that his parents preferring his younger brother and treating him much better was not right. He was not stupid and he knew that parents always had a favorite child no matter how much they said otherwise, but what his parents did was to be negligent towards him, which had nothing to do with the above.

It had been hard to see his brother receive letters and packages from his parents day in and day out, while he hadn't received a single letter all year... and although it had hurt, it had served to make him realize much faster that it wasn't worth it to keep trying to please his parents... as long as they kept believing that Brian was the child of the prophecy there would be nothing to do. The best and most certain thing was to think that Uncle Remus was his father and maybe... with time, Ginna could be his mother figure. Yes, it would be the best, it hurt less that way.

[T/N: JEEEZZZZZ man you just met her!]

Still, he didn't want to go home... instead, he would much rather be able to spend the holidays somewhere else or even at school... and being invisible for two months to everyone except Remus and his brother was not at all pleasant. For a few days he had considered asking permission to stay at school, but he knew perfectly well that they would say no, so it was foolish to ask. Although he hadn't said anything, his friends had noticed his reluctant feeling about going home and although they showed him their encouragement and understanding, none of them were very sure about how they should help him.

" Ready to head back? " Ernie asked, seeing that he had already finished packing his trunk.

" I guess."

" You don't seem to be in much of a mood."

" And I don't have any. Just thinking about two months with Brian without interruption... it gives me chills."

" Totally understandable. " Justin FinFlechey murmured. " I would try to stay as far away from him as possible."

That caused a few laughs in the dormitory. After all, if even a Hufflepuff wanted to be away from someone, they must be very unpleasant... The truth is that Brian had built up a very bad reputation during his year at Hogwarts, he had no friends, and from what Hermione and Neville had told him, his dorm mates could barely stand him. Obviously, school had not been what his brother expected, but quite the opposite, no matter how much the Professors turned a blind eye to his violations of the internal regulations... he rather expected everyone to fall at his feet, just like at home. After such an unfavorable year, he would not hesitate to try to get revenge on a territory that he knew and that he knew was unsuitable for his brother.

Not long after, the trunks had disappeared from the dormitories (obviously the work of the house elves) and were most likely already in the luggage carriage of the train. That had one clear meaning. It was time to leave and go home, however much they wanted to stay or delay the inevitable moment. So Harry picked up the basket containing his cat and headed over to where his dorm mates and friends were waiting to go home.

" Ready, Harry? " Neville asked as soon as he saw him.

" As ready as I can be. " The young Hufflepuff murmured.

" Don't worry, you'll see that everything will be fine. " Hermione told him optimistically. " I'm sure that at least your parents will be happy to see you and besides, there's Remus."

[T/N: ...Bless her bleeding heart]

" I guess..."

" Besides, I've been thinking that if things get ugly, I can invite you to my house" Draco said, looking at him seriously.

"Hmmm... don't take it the wrong way, but don't you think your father wouldn't like it?... After all, my father is an auror, and your father..."

There was no need to say it out loud, everyone understood that what he meant was that he belonged to the Death Eaters... That was not a secret within the group and normally did not cause any problem, although the Slytherin usually felt extremely uncomfortable. This time was no exception.

" Well, it's true that he wouldn't be very happy about it... " the blond muttered. " But you're my friend and that comes first."

" Thank you very much, Draco."

Once on the train, everyone relaxed as best they could, Terry and Hermione began a complicated conversation about magical theory that had nothing to do with their age and that only Harry would be able to understand, Neville and Athena were having a debate about exotic plants while looking through a herbology book that the Gryffindor had, and Draco, Jonathan and Harry were playing a game of Exploding Snap, trying to make sure that none of the other occupants of the compartment could be harmed in any way by the explosions.

The trip itself was very quiet, no one came in wanting to bother (Brian) and each one explained what they thought they were going to do during the summer holidays, between games, excursions, and resting from school, the great majority was going to be very busy. The most exciting thing of the whole trip was when Fred and George appeared in the compartment wanting to have a fun time and show them the beginnings of what was going to be their company, 'Weasley Wizard Wheezes', they had not yet started to produce, but they had great ideas and plans, in fact, they showed them a few scrolls with their plans and projects for jokes.

[T/N: I hope the author was just too lazy to search up the name of the joke shop because the name they gave sucked, (Weasley's Jokeshop), no imagination. If you want to be original at least don't suck]

" These are very good ideas. " Hermione said, looking at the scrolls. " If you manage to develop them, you will have a large market and a very good response from consumers."

" I'd at least buy a few of these things " Draco murmured, also looking at the projects. " What you really need is an investor... someone with money who believes in your ideas."

" We have been thinking…"

" Of asking Gringgots for a loan."

" Mmm... it has its drawbacks. The idea is good and they would probably give it to you, but you would have to have a guarantor and the interest rates are very high... the best thing is to have an investor."

" But where…"

" Would we find one?"

"Who knows," Harry laughed innocently. "It could be anywhere. If you start with the students, some of their family might be interested in investing."

When the train arrived at King's Cross, everyone said goodbye, promising to send each other owls and thus keep each other informed of their summers... Draco insisted on inviting him to his house again, even though his father would not like the idea, and Harry was forced to decline again, it was not a good idea to cause the blond trouble.

As soon as Harry left the magical part of the station and returned to the muggle one, he saw his parents already spoiling their youngest son, who was probably explaining to them how bad his classmates had been and how he hadn't liked his first year at all. Harry sighed, why did he have the feeling that it was going to be a very long summer?

On a brighter note, the young Hufflepuff was very happy when Remus came to dinner that evening (his parents had organised a welcome dinner for Brian)... he hadn't seen him since shortly after his OWLs and he was dying to be with him, after all the cards were all well and good, but it just wasn't the same... He had longed to be with him and have their usual, very pleasant chats. And he was very happy when the werewolf put everything else aside to be with him... at least, Remus would always notice and appreciate that.

"How has everything been going at school? Anything new?"

"Not much... although Fred and George showed me their joke projects for their shop."

"How good were they?"

" Very! By the time they can open their shop, Zanko won't have a chance! Too bad they lack the funds to get started."

"Don't worry about that, I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Who knows when an investor will appear?"

"I told them the same thing... Draco also invited me to spend a few days at his house..."

"Draco? Draco Malfoy? Lucius Malfoy's son?"

"The same"

"You won't accept, will you? His father is a Death Eater..."

"No... I haven't accepted, but not because his father bothers me, but because I will bother his father." He laughed. "Can you imagine his face when he finds the son of an Auror in his house?"

"It would be quite a riot... that's for sure " Remus laughed.

The conversation moved on to his final weeks at Hogwarts, as well as his studies... The fact that he hadn't finished his sixth year material wasn't the cause of disappointed comments as the poor guy had expected, but quite the opposite... all the time he commented on how very proud he was of him... after all, who could say that they had completed their OWLs when they were twelve? That was a welcome change, after all, his parents hadn't acknowledged his mere existence after they had arrived from the station, not even to scorn him... and they were still angry about the punishment they had given Brian for him... or that he wouldn't speak in his favour so that they would remove the 'undeserved' punishment.

That fact didn't matter to the boy, for the first time in his short life he was convinced that his parents were wrong and that their unequal treatment was truly unfair... it had taken him a while to realize it but that was what he was thinking at that moment. They would realize their mistake... Ginna had told him that Brian wasn't the child of the prophecy and sooner or later that would be known.

It was also Remus who he asked for advice regarding what profession he should choose, after all, he only had a year and a half of studies left... and perhaps, the next one would be his last... with a bit of luck he would finish the seventh year the following year.

"First and foremost, it would be best if it was something you liked... because if you choose something that has a lot of potential, but that you don't like, you will be very unhappy."

"What do you mean?"

"For example, there are a lot of Aurors needed now and it's a profession with a lot of opportunities... but you hate fighting and you would only do it out of necessity, so if you chose that profession you would be depressed while you work " explained the werewolf " I think the best thing you could do is ask for an apprenticeship... think about what you like most and approach the Hogwarts professor who does that... I don't think he would deny it to you and that would make your future easier and the legal problem of being a minor."

"Do you mean that even if I got my NEWTs, the ministry wouldn't allow me to use my magic?"

"It's possible... you know that everyone in the Ministry is full of bureaucracy... It wouldn't be surprising if they denied you the right to practice it until you were seventeen while you're not at Hogwarts... of course, your Professors can also intercede on your behalf... so who knows? You could ask Ginna..."

"It wouldn't do any good. She refuses to tell me anything about my future..."

"And why don't you look for it?"

"Because of the curse of clairvoyance... one cannot see one's own future. That's why if I want to know what will happen to me I have to ask her, but when I do, she smiles and changes the subject."

Remus laughed at the comment and then began to ask him questions about his divination classes and his mentor in general... after all, even though they had talked about her in a letter, it wasn't the same as in person.

It was a good thing Remus had chosen to come to the dinner because that was the most interesting thing in the whole summer... not even his birthday had much excitement because they didn't go to Diagon Alley that year, since they would go later, and therefore his friends couldn't throw him a birthday party. Even though his parents had forgotten about him, that didn't mean the rest of them had too... his friends sent him many letters asking him how he was and to come and spend a few days at their houses... although the boy rejected each one of them. He couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts.

[T/N: Yeah!! This was a great chapter, not a lot happened but that's fine.

If you enjoyed it then leave a comment, drop some stones, and write a review. If you want to read the rest of the book early then check out the P@treon or the Ko-fi.]

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