Chapter Text
Harry Potter woke up feeling rather befuddled. The bed was so very comfy…and it was enclosed by curtains? This wasn't his cupboard…or Dudley's second bedroom. Where exactly was he?
And then he woke up a little more and thought to himself, "Oh I'm at Hogwarts and I'm a wizard, right?"
It was all too new. He'd only ever known life at the Dursley's, living in his cupboard under the stairs, sometimes being punished for simply breathing it felt like. But then he recalled he'd finally gotten to the school late last night, after being stranded at Kings Cross Station all day. He also remembered going to bed with a full stomach for the first time in his life. And last of all, he remembered his professor tucking him in and wishing him a good night's sleep. He'd never had that happen before either.
It was all a little strange, but as Harry pondered it all further, it was a good strange. The kind of strange he thought he could live with.
Suddenly there was a jangling sound above his head, making him jump. "What in the world?" thought the young wizard. Then the jangling changed to the voice of Professor Flitwick, his rescuer from the night before.
"Good morning Mr Potter. I took the liberty of setting an alarm for you. It's 6:45 am and breakfast starts at 7:30. I wanted to make sure you had time for a shower. They can get a little crowded most mornings."
Harry chuckled at the bizarre wizarding version of an alarm clock. He'd only ever had his cousin tromping heavily down the stairs over his head as a wake-up call for school mornings before. He rather thought this was much more civilised.
Grabbing his shower kit, clothes and robes for the day, he considered which door to exit - Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. He randomly chose Hufflepuff, thinking he could always try Ravenclaw if the shower line was too long. And then he huffed in amusement. Imagine the boy from the cupboard under the stairs, having exclusive rights to two Houses! It was all a bit overwhelming really, but in such a good way.
Twenty minutes later, Harry was showered and dressed and had ventured into the Hufflepuff Common Room, having not been there the night before. It was a lovely organic space, painted in rich earthy tones, and filled with comfortable couches, cosy study nooks and loads of interesting looking plants.
Taking a seat in a plush armchair by the fireplace, Harry considered the things Flitwick had told him as they walked up to the Castle the night before, particularly about his parents and how they'd died. His thoughts were soon interrupted, when he was joined by one his dorm mates, Neville Longbottom. Apparently they had adjoining beds, and the Hufflepuff had woken on hearing Harry get his things from his trunk and heading to the showers. Neville took the armchair opposite then introduced himself to Harry and they discussed whether they should try to find their way to the Great Hall for breakfast or wait for one of the prefects to direct them. Feeling a little adventurous they set out, hoping they wouldn't have to skip breakfast if they got lost.
But as the saying goes "Fortune favours the brave" and less than fifteen minutes later (there'd been the odd misstep along the way), they found themselves in a sparsely occupied Great Hall with five minutes to spare before the official start of breakfast. The pair grabbed a couple of seats at the Hufflepuff table and continued chatting, ready for the meal to appear.
"So Harry, what do you think your favourite classes will be?" Neville asked.
Harry responded, "I'm not really sure. I got to read some of my books that I got in Diagon Alley, but I couldn't get into them too much. My aunt and uncle hate anything to do with magic, so I could only read when they weren't around."
"That's horrible Harry!" Neville answered. "Are they muggles then? I've never been around non-magical people. My Gran tends to stick to the Wizarding community and doesn't think there's any need to go out into the muggle world. So I don't know much."
"Yeah they're muggles and they never told me I was a wizard or that my parents were magical. They just said they were lazy layabouts and they died because they got into a car accident, driving while they were drunk," Harry replied.
Neville gasped, "They told you that? They said that about your Mum and Dad? No way. Your parents were my parents' best friends. Your Dad and mine worked together as Aurors. And our Mums both wanted to become Charms Masters. I guess this means you didn't know my Mum is your godmother, same as your Mum was mine."
"No….no way. They told me no-one cared about me. Called me a freak who everyone hated! How come your parents didn't come and get me, if they cared so much?" Harry asked, sounding rather distressed.
Neville was suddenly frantic. He had no clue his god-brother had been kept so completely in the dark. "Harry, just after your parents were killed, my Mum and Dad were attacked and tortured. They're in St Mungo's Hospital in the long term care ward. They don't know me. They don't know anyone. They couldn't have saved you, no matter how much they would have wanted to."
"Oh no! Neville, I'm so sorry," Harry apologised profusely. "I didn't know. I would never…"
Neville threw an arm around Harry's shoulder and pulled him into a tight hug. "I understand Harry. I guessed as much when I realised you'd been muggle-raised. Don't worry about it. You couldn't have known."
Harry sighed, relaxing into the comforting hug he was being offered and then realised, "This makes us god-brothers then, right? I've never had a brother." Suddenly hesitant, he continued, "You'd be alright with that wouldn't you?"
"I'd be perfectly fine with that, brother," Neville replied. "Perfectly fine indeed."