"Yes, yes, of course although honestly, what wasyour grand-uncle thinking, a toad. You can barely take care of yourself. HereI've un-shrunk your trunk. Have a good term and do nothing to disgrace thefamily. Study hard and mind your manners if Minerva has to send me one badreport…"
Harry decided that he didn't like the old witch verymuch. She treated her grandson the way Vernon used to treat him. Harry knewfrom his sensei that the best way to get the best from others was to treat themwith respect. Usually the kids who made fun of his second hand clothes stoppedwhen he didn't seem to let it bother him and still treated them with therespect sensei demanded in the dojo. Some of them even came to respect him inreturn. Of course it didn't hurt that they knew that he knew how to hand themtheir asses in a fight situation. Thinking about his sensei made him thinkabout their goodbye.
Mid August Harry had knocked on Sensei's office door.He'd opened it. Harry had bowed respectfully.
"Yes Harry, did you need something?"
"Sir, I've been accepted to the boarding school myparents went to in Scotland and I wanted to give you notice so you could findsomeone to help clean the dojo and help with the Saturday classes."
"I see thank you Harry. How do you feel aboutthis?"
"It's an opportunity I won't get if I stay here,sir."
"Is that all?"
Harry's demeanor changed. "No, part of me isterrified I'll do something to screw up, and…"
Harry's sensei had long ago figured out that Harry stayedon a sufferance from his Aunt and Uncle. They provided for the boy's needs anda smidgen more Harry's presence in his dojo was proof of that, but no more.Love, affection and praise were a rare if not nonexistent things in Harry'shome life. But they also did not abuse him in a tangible way; the worst theywere guilty of was emotional neglect. Sensei tried to make up for this lack byoffering Harry additional classes in exchange for work and lavishing the boywith well earned praise and doing his best to provide a moral compass. Theresult was Harry sometimes confided in him.
"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
""Good, I think, I've already found out alittle about my parents I didn't know before. I get to..
"Get to what?"
"Get away from my Uncle. Get away from the constantcalculation the ever on alert. But I'll miss you and the dojo."
"Life is about change Harry, it sounds like thismight indeed be a good thing." Sensei had seen enough interaction betweenHarry and his family not to need an explanation. "Embrace it. Will you beback for Michaelmas and Easter breaks?"
"No Sir I'll probably stay at school."
"Then I'll teach you some new katas and exerciseswith your bo and a bokken to practice until we see each other nextsummer." The day before Harry's departure Sensei had gifted him with a newlarger Gi, a bo, a bokken of his own, books about tai chi and kendo, and theadmonishment to practice hard everyday and take care of himself. Harry wound upcarrying the staff but the bokken tucked nicely into one of the sets of loopsin his trunk's third compartment.
A knock sounded from the door of the compartment. Thechubby blond boy from outside was at the door. "Mind if I ?"
"Sure."
"Thanks I'm Neville Longbottom. You are?"
"Harry Potter. So you're my god brother."
"God brother?"
"Well what else does the wizarding world call itwhen the mother of one boy is the godmother of the other and vice versa. Thatis assuming your mother's name is Alice."
The boy got a very sad look on his face. "Yes, myMum is Alice, I'm sorry I never knew. Mum hasn't been well for a… well since Iwas a baby and my Gran raised me. I'd always wondered who my godparents were…and why they weren't around, but if it was your parents it makes sensenow."
"Sorry, If I brought up bad memories or anything.Here let me help you with that." Harry knew with his healthy fit body hewould be much more able to maneuver Neville's trunk, than the chubby boy. Ashe'd watched the platform he had noticed a general trend of wizarding kind tobe unfit. "Anyway it's nice to meet you, Neville. I hope we can befriends." Harry held out his hand.
"I'd like that Harry." Neville took in the boyin front of him. He was dressed neatly in muggle clothes in shades of blue andgray, and wore a gray fedora so his scar wasn't readily apparent.
"So I heard you grew up with Muggles. What was thatlike?"
"It was okay. Different than growing up with magic Ibet. My family never liked it when I did accidental magic. I bet your familyliked it when you did it."
"Yeah." Neville said in a very subdued tone.
Harry could tell he obviously said something wrong sodecided to set the tone for this new friendship. "Okay, obviously I saidsomething wrong and rather than wreck this new friendship with amisunderstanding, how about you tell me, so I don't do it again."
Neville swallowed nervously. "I didn't do accidentalmagic for a long time. My family thought I was a squib. It wasn't until myUncle Algie held me out the third story window and dropped me and I bouncedthat I did any magic at all."
"That's ruddy awful, why didn't anyone stop him? Hecould have killed you."
"Welcome to the magical world where it's better tobe dead than a squib."Neville spoke without thinking then got a shockedlook on his own face then covered his own mouth in his shock. A moment later heput his hand down and while still blushing he said. "Don't tell anyone Isaid that. Gran would… Uncle Algie isn't all bad. He was really pleased I gotinto Hogwarts, he bought me my toad."
Harry refrained from commenting, remembering what Hagridhad to say about toads.
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