Broken Bonds

The last two weeks of the summer holidays were the best that Harry had ever had. He loved living with Sirius and Remus, Remus having moved in during the second week after much pleading from both Harry and Sirius. They were both fun and quite the pranksters. But they were also caring and strict enough that Harry felt loved and safe, but not restricted. He had met up with Ron and Hermione at Diagon Alley during the last week of the holidays. He hadn't mentioned his living situation, though they did talk about Sirius' innocence.

It was a shock for Harry when he found Remus asleep in the last compartment of the train; he hadn't mentioned anything about coming to Hogwarts. All the other compartments were full, so he dragged his trunk in, followed by Ron and Hermione.

"Who is he?" Ron asked.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," Hermione said instantly. Harry had begun to open his mouth, but she had beaten him.

"How'd you know that?" Ron demanded.

"It's on his trunk Ronald," she sighed. Ron then turned to Harry.

"You looked like you were going to answer. Do you know him, or did you just read his trunk?"

"I know him. He was friends with my parents," Harry said. Hermione looked sympathetic while Ron stared.

"Is he asleep?" Ron asked.

"I think so," Hermione answered. Harry figured he was. He had had a long night last night, according to Sirius. Remus had visited them at Potter Manor a lot during the first week they had lived there, he had practically moved in already by the time they had started pleading, and he had seen how close the two of them were. He wouldn't have been surprised to find out they were dating.

The train ride passed uneventfully, unless you counted Malfoy's expected visit. He hadn't stayed long though, when he noticed that Remus was in the compartment. Remus had woken up near the end of the trip, smiling at Harry before leaving to talk to the conductor. They stopped at the station and tried to get out of the train through the rush of students.

They climbed into the horseless carriages, talking about subjects for the year. Hermione was somehow taking all the electives, but Harry didn't see how she could be. Then again, it was Hermione. He figured she would drop Muggle Studies by the end of the year, if what Sirius had told him was true. It was apparently extremely outdated, the book that was listed on the booklist was the same one needed when Sirius was in school.

They sat with Neville, Dean and Seamus, along with Lavender and Parvati. Ginny had also sat with them. The sorting didn't take long, but he was sure it felt like forever for the first years. The feast passed as it always did, and Dumbledore's speech was the same as it was in their first year, although he warned them about the dementors who were still stationed around the caste, as the ministry hadn't gotten around to removing them yet and were saying that they were still a safety precaution with Pettigrew on the loose. As they walked back towards the common room, Harry started up a conversation with Ginny. He had noticed that she was walking just behind their group, rather than with any friends from her year level. She probably hadn't been able to make many friends last year, with everything going on with the diary.

"Have a good holiday Ginny?" he asked, falling back a bit to walk with her.

"Yeah, it was pretty good. Nothing much happened though. How about you?" she replied.

"Oh, it was better than normal. I got out of a terrible household and found two people who really care about me," he answered. They continued talking as they walked up to the tower, speaking of what classes they were looking forward to that year. Ginny had similar interests to him, although she preferred Transfiguration over Charms, while he was the opposite. Harry found talking to Ginny really easy. He hoped that he could build a friendship between them.