I would like to thank Chantale and Vivid Murk for beta reading this chapter, and also Jasmin Kain - my Polish beta.

Harry followed the Weasley teens and Hermione into a gloomy room furnished with a desk, a wardrobe and two single beds. Hermione quickly pulled him over to sit on one of them. He put his breakfast plate on the nightstand.

"Oh, Harry, how are you? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have. I know our letters were useless. And we couldn't write more often. We couldn't tell you anything. Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got to tell us about your Ministry hearing! I've looked it all up! They couldn't expel you. They just couldn't; there's a provision in the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations. But it's still outrageous that they treated you the same way they do criminals. And your uncle! How do you feel about it? Why didn't you tell us anything?" Hermione spat the words out at the speed of a machine gun. "And what about moving out from..."

"Hermione! Slow down a little. Let him answer at least one question!" Ron interrupted the girl, sitting down on the bed across from his two best friends. The twins and Ginny sat next to their brother, looking expectantly at Harry.

"Oh, sorry."

"No, go ahead, Hermione. Don't bother with Harry's answers," said Fred. The girl threw him a dirty look, then focused on her best friend.

Harry wasn't sure if he was allowed to tell them that Tobias was his father. In June, Dumbledore wrote to him in a letter that he had taken certain measures to prevent the names of his biological parents from being revealed. However, it was one of the significant changes in Harry's life, right next to the one when he turned out to be a wizard. He felt that the Headmaster had no right to forbid him to share the information with those closest to him.

Even though he felt a slight fear of being rejected when he told them who his biological father was, and therefore his brother, he decided not to hide it. If they were his true friends—and he knew they were—sooner or later, they would accept the truth. As for security reasons, he would ask them for the Sine Nuntis Oath just in case. Not because he didn't trust them, Merlin forbid. It's just that no one will force them to reveal it this way.

So he told them the whole story, apart from some details, of course, such as the Dursleys' joy when they got rid of him and the fact that he had been staying at the Potions Master's house for several days. He didn't even mention Theo at all because he couldn't take such a huge responsibility.

"But how can you play a game with only one ball for twenty-two players? You've gone crazy like Seamus." Harry grinned broadly at his best friend, and Hermione slapped the redhead on the head. "What?" He turned to the girl. "What was I supposed to say? That I'm glad, Harry is finally free from the Dursleys? Or that I am horrified that he really is Snape's little brother? No, no, no... I can't deal with that."

" That's exactly what you should say. And it's not about you. It's about Harry." She turned to the boy again.

"Wait, have you already known about that?" Harry looked at Ron, slightly surprised.

"Extendable Ears. Thanks to them, we know at least a little what's going on. But why didn't you tell us?" George asked.

"Well, at first, I was not entirely sure myself if it was true. And then... Well... I guess I preferred to tell you in person."

"And now you've got that oversized bat breathing down your neck even more, focused on you." Ron looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sure he's about to begin really tormenting you."

"Harry, don't listen to him. It won't be that bad. Maybe he'll even treat you a little better." He could always count on Hermione to try and cheer him up. Even though she said it in a slightly doubtful tone of voice, the truth was that he had already been proven that she was partly right. Harry smiled at the girl.

"We saw Snape arguing with the Order because he wanted to take you to the Ministry himself. He insisted, even though him taking Polyjuice Potion was riskier than if Dad had gone there with you," George interjected.

"Really?" That got Harry's attention.

"He said he'd better keep you in check. Dad looked at him with pity and made a face like, 'Hello, you're talking to the father of seven children, including the notorious Weasley twins'." George grinned, mimicking his father's voice.

"And then our mom interrupted as usual and threw us out of the kitchen," Ron continued. "She didn't even let me finish my dinner."

"Third serving of dinner," Hermione corrected, shaking her head.

"Well, I'm a growing boy! Anyway, eating is the only pleasure we have in here." He shot the girl an annoyed look. "And it ended up with Snape going with you, right?"

"Yeah."

"Merlin, I feel really sorry for you." Ron patted him on the back.

"No, it wasn't that bad," Harry shrugged. He was grateful for such friends and their support, and his anger at them for not writing to him was gone.

"I'm more interested in your tattoo, Harry," Ginny smiled.

Harry blushed.

"Well, it's nothing special."

"I think it was very stupid of you," Hermione interjected, crossing her arms over her chest. "You are unaware of the conse."

"Er... I am well aware of them, believe me, Hermione," he muttered, remembering the infection he had chosen to omit in his story as well. And that it was Snape who saved him.

"Come on, don't keep us waiting."

"Yeah, come on, man. Maybe I will get a tattoo, too?" Ron paused for a moment. "I've always wanted one since Bill came home with the Eye of Horus on his shoulder."

The twins started chanting Harry's name again, and soon Ron and Ginny joined them. Only Hermione pursed her lips, displeased.

"Come on, buddy!" Fred shouted.

"Don't be shy!" George added.

As Harry slowly began to take off his shirt, the Weasleys chanted 'strip' repeatedly, and a blush bloomed on Ginny's cheeks.

"Cool," said Ron, delighted. "Maybe somehow, I'll be able to save money for a tattoo this year. Do you think I will find a tattoo salon in Diagon Alley?"

"No, but there is one in Knockturn Alley."

"Ronald, you won't be wandering around the Knockturn Alley!"

"aww, you hear that Ronnie? Mommy mione's forbidden it," Fred snorted.

This time it was Hermione's cheeks that turned crimson.

"Walking around the Knockturn Alley is extremely unwise in the current situation, and don't call me Mione" she said, slightly offended.

"Therefore, Ronnie, you will have to run around..."

At that moment, they heard a knock, and the door opened.

"What the hell is going on in here? What is this bawling about?" The Potions Master appeared in the doorway. "Potter, what are you doing? Where's your t-shirt?" Harry picked it up from the bed and quickly pulled it on. "You forgot your bag." Saying that Snape pulled a small box out of his pocket, waved his wand, and after a second, Harry's bag appeared in his hand. The teenager approached the man. There was silence in the room. Hermione and all the Weasleys were staring at the wizards without a single word.

"Thanks," Harry looked at the man.

"Tomorrow night at eight o'clock, I'll come to take you back. You are to be ready because I'm not going to wait for you, understood?" Snape's tone made no room for any discussion.

"Okay."

"And behave yourself." When Harry nodded again, Snape added: "Just in case—you will find a fireplace connected to the Floo Network in the living room. Do you remember my address?" He paused again, waiting for the boy to nod. "Say it loud and clear and add Snape's Corner." Harry nodded again, and Severus turned to everyone. "Molly wants you to come downstairs. She needs free labour again." He smirked, turned and left the room.

"What happened to him?! It didn't look at all like he was trying to bite your head off."

"Ron is right, he wasn't as nasty as always. What is he up to?"

Harry shrugged.

"The thing is, I really have no idea," he said thoughtfully.

"But the bat is right about one thing. And I don't believe I agree with Snape on anything." Ron groaned, looking martyred. "We've been working in this house like slaves for two weeks, without a day off. Forcing us to work during the summer holidays should be punishable by law."

Sunday, August 13th, 1994

For the remainder of the previous day, they'd been cleaning bedrooms just in case any members of the Order of the Phoenix were to move temporarily to Grimmauld Place. Harry was used to working; the Dursleys had already taken care of that. But the rest of the teens had never worked physically before. The work wasn't hard but after just fifteen minutes, Ron started whining and complaining. They didn't even have someone threatening them with consequences if they did something wrong or too slowly. And it was exactly like that because they were moving as slow as molasses in January. Harry had the impression that the adults just wanted to keep them busy so that they wouldn't wander around the house and complain about boredom.

That day, right after lunch, they were also forced to clean. As soon as they entered one of the rooms, Ron threw himself on the bed. Cloud dust burst from it, and the teen let out a painful exclamation.

"I can't stand this any longer! It's our holiday! I bet even old Snape doesn't use you like some kind of cleaning slave!"

"Ron, you slept until noon; I doubt slaves have that much freedom," Harry said, taking the decorations off the shelves to wash the furniture.

"But I was planning to eat, go flying, and then lie on the blanket by our pond and do nothing at all! Or no, not in that order, fly on a broom first, eat later... Or not... eat first ..."

"You could eat while flying," Harry said helpfully.

"Yep." Ron smiled, then darkened again. "But yeah, I wasn't planning to work from dawn to dusk in this musty hole. It's child abuse, and we should call the Ministry's Office for the Rights of the Child!"

"Aren't you exaggerating a little?"

"Am I exaggerating? It's bullying, taking advantage of us... and... I swear I would have called on them if it weren't for You-Know-Who..."

It occurred to Harry that it was a good thing Ron hadn't lived with the Dursleys because he wouldn't have lasted a few days there, but Harry hadn't expressed his opinion out loud.

"Really, Ronald, there are more important things than your holidays. Get up. We need to dust the mattress and change the sheets," Hermione said irritably.

At that moment, the twins entered the room and immediately closed the door behind them.

"Dumbledore is here."

"Are they having a meeting?" Ron asked, and, rising a little, he leaned on his elbows.

"No, we don't think so, because there are only Lupin, Sirius and him in the kitchen."

"I need to talk with him." Harry tossed a cloth he was wiping dust with onto the ground, wiped his hands on his pants and ran out of the room. The rest of them looked knowingly at each other.

HPHPHPHPHP

As soon as the teenager reached the bottom floor, he heard raised voices. He walked closer to the kitchen door and listened.

"If I want my godson to visit me in my own house, I have every right to invite him!"

"Sirius, we've already talked about this. You know it's not safe for him to be here." The twins didn't lie. Dumbledore was indeed at Headquarters. And what was even more interesting, it was Harry that he was talking to Sirius about.

"Bullshit! He's here now, and everything's fine. Nothing happened. So I don't understand why he can't visit more often. You have no problem with the rest of the kids living here!"

'Thanks, Sirius,' thought Harry when he heard his godfather standing up for him.

"Give him at least a little break from the war. He's still just a teenager." This time it was Remus who spoke.

"A teenager with Voldemort hunting him down and no one has even bothered to give him a proper defence lesson. No offence, Remus, but your classes in defence against Red Riding Hoods and Trolls won't help him to fight wizards."

"He's underage, and he shouldn't engage in the wars of adult's." Remus' voice was weary as if it wasn't the first time he had used that argument. "When he graduates from Hogwarts, we can think about him joining the Order. For now, let him stay with old Snape and enjoy the holidays. At least he's safe there."

At this point, Harry decided to go inside.

"I need to speak with you, Professor," said Harry to Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry, Harry, another time, I truly have to go, now." Harry noticed the Headmaster avoiding his eyes.

"But it's really important! You left the courtroom so fast that I didn't even have a chance to talk with you!"

"Harry, Professor Dumbledore has a lot on his mind right now. He doesn't have time to deal with your teenage problems," Remus scolded him while the Headmaster turned and headed towards the fireplace.

"Look at me!" Harry shouted. He didn't know why, but suddenly he felt a rage that was disproportionate to the situation seizing him. Yes, he was irritated by the man's behaviour, but not enough to start yelling at the Headmaster.

"Harry!" Remus reprimanded him. Sirius just smiled, clearly amused, and crossed his arms over his chest.

Dumbledore glanced at him quickly, but his eyes almost immediately fell to the wall.

"I want to join the Order," Harry said, ignoring Lupin.

"I'm sorry, it's impossible. You are too young. We'll talk about it when you graduate."

"Somehow, Voldemort," nobody flinched at the name, "doesn't care how old I am. I want to be able to fight him. Since he's attacking me anyway, I want at least a minimal chance of escaping him!"

"Then focus on studying defence classes, Harry."

"I wonder how, since everyone you have employed so far, professor, wanted to kill me or destroy my memories!"

"I'm dreadfully sorry, Harry, but we can talk about you joining the Order when you turn seventeen." The older man looked tired and much older than the year before, but he still didn't meet Harry's eyes, which irritated the boy even more.

"I probably won't live long enough to see it because Voldemort or your choice of defence professors will get me before that," he said harshly.

"You are safe living with your father and at school. Enjoy your holidays while you can, dear boy."

"You're safe at school..." Harry laughed bitterly. "So you put a Philosopher's Stone in a third-floor room in a school full of kids as part of an innocent Hunt the Thimble game? And Voldemort popped in as the guest of honour? How could I ever think that he posed any threat to me and everyone else."

"Harry! I know, that..." Dumbledore began.

"Oh no. Let me finish," Harry growled, raising his hand. His whole posture radiated with confidence he rarely showed. "I suppose you didn't have to do anything with the basilisk and the diary. But what about my fourth year? How could you not have figured out that your friend was not who he says he is? My card jumped into the goblet of fire by itself?"

"Harry, behave yourself! After all, it's your Headmaster! Sirius, say something!"

"It's Harry's fight, and he's been doing great so far." The man grinned, clearly enjoying himself, glad that his godson had finally stood up to the old man.

"In your first and second year, Harry, it was rather your curiosity mixed with youthful ambition that led to these events. You know very well that even if I knew, I wouldn't be able to stop you."

"What about the anti-magic barrier in the area where I live? I have no chance of defending myself against a Muggle attack."

"But what could possibly happen there, Harry? Besides, you only left the area for a moment and you almost immediately ended up suspended as a student, waiting for the Ministry trial." Harry clenched his fists, hearing the sadness and disappointment in Dumbledore's voice. "It truly pains me, my boy, that you think that way, but we'll talk about the Order when you're seventeen. Now I have to go. I'm already late." The Headmaster nodded at Harry and the other two wizards, scooped up a pinch of floo powder in his hand, and disappeared into the fireplace.

The teenager sat down in the chair, folded his arms across his chest, and made a vague sound of frustration.

"I'm slowly starting to really hate him."

"Harry! After this performance, we should send you to your room like a child to rethink your behaviour. You can't speak to the Headmaster like a bratty, demanding child."

"Well, with all due respect, professor, you have no right to tell me how to behave. You're my former teacher and nothing else." Harry grimaced at his own words, but he decided they were true enough after a reconsideration.

"I didn't expect this from you, Harry."

"How can you expect anything from me if you don't even know me very much? You taught me for a year, and that's it. After the third year, I didn't even get a letter from you. Nothing. So where did you get the idea that you are closer to me than, for example, Trelawney, who taught me for the whole two years?" Harry smiled bitterly.

"I was a friend of your parents. I care about you." Remus sighed. "Your parents would be very disappointed in your behaviour."

"As for my parents, James and Lily, well, I didn't get to know them. And after their deaths, you didn't want to have anything to do with me, you didn't check if I was fine, so I don't know who they would be more disappointed with."

Harry knew he was exaggerating. He was angry with Dumbledore and took it out on Remus, but he didn't care.

"Harry, don't say that. I cared about you, but Dumbledore..."

"Pathetic. Dumbledore is not the king of the world and has no right to dictate whether someone can contact someone or not! You made that decision! Maybe if you just once checked to see if I was okay, maybe..." Maybe if the man visited him and noticed what was going on, he would have taken him away from the Dursleys, and his hell on earth would have ended sooner. "Maybe everything would be different!"

"The Headmaster is our leader, and has never given me cause not to trust him. We have a chance to win against Voldemort as long as we stay united. The Headmaster has too much on his mind right now anyway, so please, at least, don't bother him with your childish pretensions. And that's also the reason why you are still too young to be in the Order. It's because you cannot understand that you are not the centre of the world." Remus raised his voice. Harry also felt more and more agitated.

"Exactly, I'm not in the Order, so I shouldn't really care what is decided within an organization that I don't even have access to. I'm here privately, visiting my godfather who invited me. And yes, I partly blame Dumbledore, but you didn't do anything to help me either!"

"You should be grateful we let you come here at all. But you know what? I give up. Sirius, you're his godfather. Set him straight." Remus turned to the man, completely ignoring what Harry had just said. "Seeing as I, as he puts it, am like a stranger to him," he finished in a slightly mocking voice.

"Well, I'm on Harry's side. He is right. And it's time for him finally to say it out loud." Sirius shrugged.

"Really? Your godson has no respect for anyone. How can you let him speak like that to an elderly person who is not