Harry woke up that morning prepared to do what he did every morning, though today felt different for some reason. He couldn’t remember heading into his cupboard last night, nor could he remember falling asleep. In fact, the last thing his mind can conjure up is the image of a purple-faced Uncle Vernon, spit flying out of his mouth and waddling forward with rage filled eyes.
Harry shuddered. Despite his young age, he knew that whatever came after that kind of look was never good. He was very grateful that he hadn’t woken up in any pain or with any injuries. It didn’t happen often, but sometimes Harry would wake up miraculously healed from whatever encounter he’d had the night before and all he could do was thank his lucky stars every time.
His gratitude that morning was tenfold though for a very special reason; today being his very first day of school. Harry can’t remember a time he had ever been more excited about something in his life. School was going to be his savior; he just knew it. Once he showed the Dursleys that he wasn’t stupid or a freak, they would have no choice but to love and care for him.
He needed to get a move on now, though, so he wouldn’t be late. He couldn’t think of a worse thing happening than missing school entirely, especially not since this was his last hope.
Harry made his bed as best he could and then tried his hardest to make Dudley’s old cast-offs look presentable; with no mirror to check his work, Harry could only hope it looked okay. He contemplated what to do with his hair after, but his fear of making it look worse won out, so he left it as is.
He allowed himself a small smile when he finished getting ready before relaxing his face and slowly making his way to the door, silently cheering to himself when it was unlocked.
Harry walked softly to the kitchen and tried to keep his footsteps as quiet as he possibly could. Who knew what sort of mood Uncle Vernon would be in after last night.
Prepared for the worst, he was quite shocked at the scene before him. Uncle Vernon was sitting at the head of the table like always, yet today he didn’t have a plate of food in front of him nor did he have the morning paper. Instead, he seemed to be in a state of shock, with his pale face and unseeing eyes.
Aunt Petunia was acting differently, too. She was sitting across the table with Dudley, not in her usual spot next to Uncle Vernon, and she kept sending him what appeared to be scared glances while talking in a hushed tone to Dudley.
At least they were eating breakfast, but that just made it even more odd that Harry’s uncle wasn’t.
Perhaps the oddest thing, though, was how no one reacted to Harry walking through the door. There was no yelling, no sneering, not even one of Aunt Petunia’s looks of disgust or Uncle Vernon’s angry face were being aimed his way. They all just carried on as if Harry was still in his cupboard and not waiting to be told what he needed to do.
Maybe they were testing him? Harry didn’t have a clue what was going on, but if this was a test, he decided that starting on the dishes would be his safest option, as he did them almost every morning. With that in mind, Harry cautiously inched forward toward the sink.
The empty sink.
The sparkling clean sink with not a single dish or crumb to be found.
Harry was getting really confused and he could feel dread bubbling up in his stomach. If this was a test he knew he was failing big time yet he couldn’t figure out what they wanted him to do. Maybe this was the type of test that he was meant to fail? Like when Aunt Petunia told him to clean the bathroom but didn’t tell him how and punished him for asking.
He really hoped that wasn’t the case because punishments were always harsher in those instances.
Maybe Harry was just working himself up over nothing. It’s his first day of school after all, this could just be the Dursley’s way of marking the occasion.
He likes that idea much better and either way Harry learned long ago that trying to get out of a punishment is impossible, even if he sometimes thinks they’re undeserved.
Harry moves away from the sink, having come to the conclusion that it was best to be out of the way while he waits for a possible punishment or the time to leave for school, whichever one comes first. He’s making his way to the corner of the kitchen when Aunt Petunia suddenly stands up with their dirty dishes and Harry only barely manages to avoid running into her.
Cringing into himself and trying to appear as small as possible, Harry waits for harsh words and a stinging cheek, swallowing harshly against the lump in his throat and not allowing the tears to even well up in his eyes.
You’ve gone and done it now.
Harry feels like he’s been standing there forever, feels like time has slowed down to a snail's pace and yet nothing happens.
“Come here Dudleykins, let’s get your backpack on and then mummy can take some pictures of her handsome boy.”
Abruptly, time goes back to normal and Harry is left opening his eyes and looking around as Aunt Petunia fusses over Dudley on her way out of the kitchen.
Harry doesn’t know what just happened, doesn’t know why things have been so weird this morning. What he does know is today is his first day of school, the chance to prove himself as a useful and smart member of this family. He knows Aunt Petunia just granted him a gift and he isn’t gonna let it go to waste.
The excitement that he felt earlier when waking up comes rushing back and he moves quickly to his cupboard to grab the small bag that’s been packed for days, all but running out the front door once he has it in hand.
He slips past his now crying aunt tearfully saying goodbye to Dudley and climbs into Uncle Vernon’s car, hugging the worn bag that had been dug out of the attic for him to his chest.
He waits patiently while Aunt Petunia gets Dudley situated in the car, as patiently as he can anyways when it feels like all the energy in the world is coursing through him.
Vibrating in his seat with excitement and nerves, Harry doesn’t pay any attention to the terse conversation Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have after he stores a big black duffle bag in the boot of the car.
***
“Mum!”
Fred and George both barreled in the burrow, tripping over each other in their haste to get to their mum, excitement brimming behind glassy eyes and wide smiles.
Stumbling to a stop in front of her, they barely caught their breath before the words tumbled out, “We met an invisible boy at school!” Fred exclaimed.
“Well we can see him but no one else can so he’s pretty much invisible.” George added.
“Yeah! We saw him walking around the halls when we went inside for water during recess and he seemed sad but all of the teachers were ignoring him.”
“Mhm. So we asked him why he was so upset, besides the fact that we were at school obviously, and he told us he was lost but when he asked for help everyone was pretending he wasn’t there!”
“We decided to walk with him to the front office so they could help, only when we got there they didn’t even look at him! And when we tried to tell them what was going on they told us it wasn’t nice to play pranks and to go back to class.”
“That’s when we realized that if no one can see him it means he’s invisible but when we tried to tell him he got super angry and stormed away.”
“It’s okay though. Me and George have decided that we’re all gonna be best mates!”
Molly alternated between looking at her two sons, mind barely able to keep up with their back and forthway of talking. She blinked a few times and shook her head, ultimately deciding that her boys had once again let their imaginations run wild. She let herself share an amused smile with Arthur when she saw him by the door with Percy before focusing back on her two boys.
“That’s great, dears, I’m so happy you have a new friend. Come on, you too Percy, I’ve got snacks sitting at the table and we can work on your homework before you three head out back to play,” Molly bustled forward and steeredthem towards the kitchen, her mind already planning dinner and the ‘invisible’ boy completely forgotten.
***
The Dursley’s had been ignoring Harry for ages now but Harry reassured himself that they couldn’t ignore him forever. He just had to be a good boy while he waited and then maybe when they were done giving him the cold shoulder, they’d see how great he’d been and they would love him.
Harry nodded to himself. It was a foolproof plan in his opinion and he’d already started avoiding what made the Dursley’s the most angry: food.
Before, they would get so mad whenever he tried to sneak a bit of food, even though they only ever gave him leftover scraps and it was never enough to get rid of the hunger pains. Because of this, Harry had decided very early on that if he wanted to be a good enough boy that they would love him he had to stop eating without permission.
He thought it would’ve been way harder, especially since they wouldn’t talk to him to tell him it was okay to eat, but it was surprisingly easy to do. Harry never even felt hungry which he took as a sign that things were going well.
This was why he’s been roaming the halls during the lunch period the past few days. He felt weird being in the cafeteria and not eating and none of the teachers seemed to mind that he wasn’t there. Although, his teachers don’t really acknowledge him anyways. Harry thought they must’ve talked with the Dursleys or something because all the teachers and even the kids pretended he didn’t exist. He wasn’t upset about this though as he thought it was a fun challenge to do all of his work in his very own notebook and not with the pages all his classmates got.
Harry stopped in the middle of the Year 2 hallway and shook his head free of his wandering thoughts. He had to pay better attention to where he was going so he didn’t get lost like he was a couple days ago. The last thing Harry wanted was to run into the two identical boys who were not very nice in his opinion.
And as if summoned by his thoughts the two kids suddenly appeared around the corner of the hallway.
“Hey, there you are!”
Harry could barely hold back a groan as one of the boys saw him and then they both were running over to join him.
“What do you want?” Harry asked mulishly.
“Fred and I have agreed that we all should be mates. Best mates,” the one on the left exclaimed.
Harry tried thinking back to their last encounter when they introduced themselves and vaguely remembered a G name. Greg maybe?
“Why?” Harry asked suspiciously.
“Because you’re really cool!” George said, as if stating the obvious.
Harry crossed his arms over his chest, “You guys are mean and bullies and I don’t want to be friends with you.”
“We’re sorry that we hurt your feelings the other day. We weren’t trying to be mean.” Fred said earnestly, bright eyes widened to convey sincerity.
Harry looked between the two boys a few times and then slumped against the wall, wariness drained out of him. They both looked sorry and that was enough for Harry.
“Fine. We can be friends but if you guys start being mean again then I’m never gonna talk to you again.”
Fred and George lit up, bouncing in place and looking as if Harry had just gifted them the greatest thing in the world.
“We promise!” Fred declared.
“Yeah! We’re gonna be the best of mates, us three.” George stated.
They looked at each other and nodded in certainty before saying together, “Forever.”
***
Having an invisible friend is weird Fred has very recently learned. Not a bad weird he doesn’t think, just weird.
There’s all sorts of rules about it but nobody tells him what they are so George and him are left to figure it out on their own.
The first and most important rule they discovered was not talking about Harry’s invisibility, especially around him.
In the beginning Fred and George were so excited they couldn’t stop talking about it, asking a billion questions:
“How did you become invisible?”
“Have you been like this forever?”
“Can we turn invisible too?”
Harry didn’t answer any of their questions and instead just got really upset, denying his invisibility over and over again. Fred thought maybe it was a secret and that was why Harry reacted like that. Either way George and him agreed to not ask questions or mention Harry’s special ability around him.
That was when they tried to talk with their mum and dad about it. Maybe Harry couldn’t answer their questions but their parents were old so they would have to know.
Except every time Fred or George talked about Harry with mum and dad, mum would make a weird face. Her eyes would crinkle, her lips twisted to the side and cheeks red like she was holding her breath and she would look at dad and then they’d both smile before saying Harry sounded like a great friend.
Fred may only be 7 years, 7 months, and 8 days old but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew he was smart and he was definitely smart enough to notice that mum and dad didn’t seem to think Harry was real. They’d talk about him the same way they’d talk about Ginny’s imaginary friend, Jessie.
Hmph. As if he would have an imaginary friend. Fred and George were far too old for such childish things and Fred was very offended that mum didn’t realize this.
They both thought about asking their teacher all the questions they had, the curiosity was starting to eat away at them, but all the teachers were muggles and this didn’t seem like a muggle thing. Of course, Fred had never heard of invisible people in the wizarding world and nor had George so they decided it was worth the risk.
Hopeful of getting answers, they were sorely disappointed when all they got were the same looks from mum or looks of concern and questions about if they felt ill.
And with no one else left to ask all their burning questions they wrote out a list instead and prepared themselves for having to wait until they got to Hogwarts.
Fred could be patient. Hopefully George could too.
***
Harry was stomping to the town park, so many emotions bubbling inside him that he felt like he was about to boil over.
Frustration, anger, jealousy, and sadness. Harry was just really sad.
He didn’t know how long it had been since the Dursleys decided he no longer mattered enough to talk to. His plan of proving his worth by being good wasn’t working and he was starting to think that nothing he could do would be enough to change that.
Harry made his way through the mostly empty park towards the swings when he arrived and try as he might he couldn’t stop the tears from coming down.
“Harry is that you?”
Jolting up at the sound of George’s voice, Harry saw him and Fred making their way over and then sitting down on the swings next to him.
“You’re crying.” Fred stated.
Harry roughly rubbed his face with his sleeve to get rid of the snot and tears before replying, “So?”
“What’s wrong?”
Harry looked forward to avoid the twins’ curious gaze and contemplated telling them what was wrong. Harry hadn’t really had friends before so he wasn’t sure if it was okay to talk to them about this stuff.
But Harry was tired and so lonely and he didn’t want to deal with this by himself anymore.
“My aunt and uncle won’t talk to me anymore. I don’t know what I did wrong and they won’t tell me so I can’t apologize. They just pretend I don’t even exist,” Harry confided, breathes hitching as he got worked up again.
The twins both frowned.
“Fred and I have broken a lot of mum and dad’s rules but they never ignore us. I think it’d feel pretty awful if they did.”
Harry nodded miserably and quietly stated, “I just want thing to go back to normal. I don’t want to feel lonely anymore.”
“You’re not alone, Harry. George and I will always be here. We won’t ever ignore you.”
They sat in silence for a long while after that, slowly rocking on the swings.
Harry didn’t notice George moving until he screeched at the surprise snow attack and the sullen atmosphere lifted as the three boys got into a snowball fight.
Harry couldn’t stop his giggles as he ran around the playground breathlessly to avoid Fred and George’s attack. He wasn’t very good at making snowballs himself but what he was good at was tricking one of the twins to throw a snowball and then ducking out of the way so it hit the other boy and not him.
It was a perfect strategy and soon Fred and George were covered in partially melted snow and the three of them were laughing so hard they could no longer move.
“I’m glad we’re best mates.” Harry said as he laid down in the snow and looked at the sky.
Fred and George laid down right beside Harry, with him in the middle, and pointed at some funny looking clouds.
“Us too.”
***
The first time Molly met Harry she nearly fainted.
She knew, of course, that Harry was coming over. It had been all the twins could talk about for weeks, Harry coming over during the Easter holidays. And really, can she be blamed for thinking this ‘invisible’ boy was just the twins' way of curing their boredom at school?
Sure, maybe the vivid details about the boy should’ve been a dead give away but those two have always had buckets full of creativity and Molly just assumed this was the same situation as herself making up stories with imaginary friends as a little girl.
Clearly she had been wrong.
So wrong in fact that when a young Harry Potter walked inside the burrow, pearly blue and translucent, it was all she could do to stay on her own two feet and keep her mouth from dropping to the floor.
Not only had her two mischievous boys befriended a ghost, they just so happened to befriend the ghost of Harry Potter, one of the most famous wizards in magical Britain.
Merlin and Morgana help her.
Disregarding the fact that this boy was very much meant to be alive and yet had obviously been dead for quite some time —Molly wanted to weep with sorrow for the too thin little boy who couldn’t be older than 4— she quickly got a hold of herself and welcomed him inside.
“Hello dear. I’ve heard such wonderful things about you from the twins and it’s so lovely to put a face to a name. Come on, come on, don’t be shy. Can I get you anything, hun?”
“It’s nice to meet you too Mrs. Weasley and no thank you I don’t need anything.”
“No need for that Harry. You can call me Molly.” She gives the little boy a soft smile then turns to her own, “How about you take Harry out back and show him around?”
George lights up and grabs Harry’s hand, starting to pull him towards the door as Fred rushes to be in the front.
“Come on Harry! Ginny and Ron are outside and I want you to meet them. Ron’s in your year so you might know him…” Fred’s enthusiastic chatter fades away as he runs out of hearing range, George and Harry following close behind him.
Molly’s face drops the minute she’s sure the kids can no longer see or hear her. She feels every bit her age right then, exhausted and weary down to her bones.
Molly used her wand to set a five minute timer and let herself have a moment. She sat down at the table with her face in her hands and let the cracks splinter open. She let herself mourn for the young boy who’d already lost so much before he’d even turned two. She let herself weep for the life he must’ve lived to have ended up like this. She broke down into little pieces as she attempted to comprehend how anyone could look at sweet little Harry and lay a hand on him.
She let herself feel every sorrowful emotion and as soon as her wand vibrated to signal the end of the timer, she bundled it up tight and locked it away.
Molly wiped off her tears and focused on the things she needed to do now. Far too many people had already failed that boy and Molly would let the world burn before she became another one.
Getting straight to business, she summons a sheaf of parchment and a quill and ink and starts on the first of many letters. Ministry records requests, inquiries into the Spirit Division, commands for an investigation, Molly wrote as many letters as she could to as many places that she could think of.
She had so many letters when she was done that she ended up having to use two owls just to deliver them all. Finally, she was left with the last letter. A plea and a demand all in one sent directly to the Head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones. Molly waved her wand and said the incantation that would send this letter straight to Madame Bones to be addressed as an urgent matter. She could only hope that this would be enough.
Hearing the front door open, Molly looked up and smiled softly at seeing her husband. The smile quickly vanished though as she realized the conversation they would need to have.
“Mm hello, love.” Arthur came over and gave her a quick kiss on his way to the kitchen and Molly let him prepare tea while she got her thoughts in order.
Setting her mug in front of her and collapsing in his chair, Arthur takes a sip of his tea before grabbing her hand and asking quietly, “Are you alright, dear?”
Molly brings her other hand to cover Arthur’s and clutches tightly, double checking their surroundings for any eavesdropping miscreants, and prepares to explain the situation.
“Do you remember the twins' friend, Harry?” Molly waits for his nod before continuing, “It seems as though he very much exists and is invisible, in a way. Only magical folks can see ghosts after all.”
Repeated blinking is the only response she gets.
“Oh and the boy, Harry, just so happens to be Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, savior of the wizarding world.” Molly lets out a slightly hysterical laugh at that before she gulps it down with her tea.
“Harry Potter. A ghost. Ghost. Harry Potter. Oh dear Merlin,” Arthur breathes out faintly.
“I think we should take guardianship over him.”
“What?”
“Clearly, wherever he’s at now is not safe. He’s already met most of us and you’ve heard how Fred and George talk about him, they’re thick as thieves. We could put him up with Ron if we move a few things to fit another bed. I’ve crunched the numbers, Arthur, and we’ll be able to afford it.”
Molly looked imploringly at her husband who seemed to be struggling to catch up. Finally, after a couple minutes, Arthur seems to have gotten his head on straight and he leans forward, “Are you sure this is a smart idea?”
Molly can’t help the way her face twists as she looks at her husband appalled and he quickly rushes to clarify, bringing his hands up to cup her cheeks, “Hey I trust you, you know that. I’ll follow your lead, always. I just want to make sure we aren’t getting in over our heads.”
Molly reaches up to clasp Arthur’s wrists and squeezes reassuringly before declaring, “We aren’t. We’re gonna give that precious boy anything he needs and wants but more importantly, Arthur, we’re gonna give Harry a family that loves him.”
They look at each other for a long while before Arthur gives a determined nod, “Put me to work then.”
***
It had taken several weeks to get everything in order.
Arthur knew the Ministry had to conduct an investigation and that the best thing Molly and him could do was follow the instructions given to them from the Aurors, but he had thought, given the situation, things would’ve been expedited. Arthur had always been under the impression that he was a patient man and the last two months have proven that assumption false.
It was no matter. The DMLE had closed the case last night, with Harry’s horrid aunt and uncle having been found guilty of the numerous charges. Molly and him had already had a meeting with the Spirit Division and they were cleared to have Harry live with them.
All they had to do now was figure out how to break the news to Harry.
Easier said than done, Arthur knew. Since his first visit, Harry had come over rather regularly, multiple times a week at the very least. It hadn’t taken long to notice Harry didn’t have a clue that he was any different. Somehow, Arthur had to explain to a permanent 5 year old that their current guardians were so cosmically awful that it was necessary he be removed from their ‘care’, without revealing that he was a ghost. Of course, there were discussions on whether Harry should be told about his predicament, but it was determined that, for right now, it would be far too much for him to safely handle. He didn’t even know about magic, for Merlin’s sake.
Arthur still hadn’t solved his conundrum a few days later when Molly and him had Harry come inside for a private chat. There was nothing to do now he supposed, he’d just have to wing it.
He looked at the nervous boy fidgeting in his seat and smiled gently before attempting to put him at ease, “You’re not in trouble, Harry. Molly and I just wanted to talk with you about a few things. It shouldn’t take long and then you can go back outside to play.’
This just made Harry tense up further and Arthur cleared his throat nervously, pushing forward, “You know how there are some children that are mean to others for no reason, they’re just bullies? Adults can be bullies too and sometimes they bully kids, even their own. There’s a big rule against that and when adults break it they have to go to time out for a really long time. Do you understand what I mean, Harry?”
“Yes I understand, Mr. Arthur. Why are we talking about bullies though?” Harry asked confusedly, relaxed enough that his shoulders were no longer hugging his ears.
“Your aunt and uncle were bullies, Harry. Their treatment of you was very bad so now they’re going away for a bit.”
“I don’t- I don’t understand. What do you mean the Dursleys are bullies? How long will they be gone?”
Arthur sighed sadly, avoiding the first question and attempting to answer the second, “They’ll be gone for a while. Long enough to think about their wrongdoings.”
“Where am I supposed to go?” Harry’s face was crushed and Arthur’s heart couldn’t take it. Those vile people should be grateful the Aurors got to them before he did.
“We want you to come live with us, Harry.”
Molly reached over and grasped Harry’s cold hand, continuing, “The Dursleys were not nice people dear, especially not to you. You deserved so much better. Arthur and I can’t change how the past played out, but we want to give you a better future, if you’ll let us.”
“Are you sure?” Harry asked warily, as if expecting them to snatch back their offer the minute he let hope fill him.
“More than sure, son.”
Suddenly they had their arms full of the little boy and they both ignored the bone-chilling cold to hug him back just as tightly. Arthur knew they had a long road ahead of them when it came to caring for a traumatized ghost, but he thought this was a great start.
***
Harry woke up in his bed, his very own bed, and couldn’t stop the beaming grin from appearing on his face. He didn’t even have to try and hide it either, Miss Molly and Mr Arthur said they loved his smile and that no he wouldn’t be in trouble if they saw it.
Miss Molly and Mr Arthur were the nicest adults Harry had ever met. They gave him his own bed and he got to share a real bedroom with Ron, they gave him a lot of really cool clothes that actually fit him, they let him sit at the table for meals and he was even allowed to have some if he wanted. Harry didn’t have to do any chores either, which he thought was weird but it gave him more time to play with Fred and George so he didn’t say anything.
And they told him all about magic. A whole new world where witches and wizards and all sorts of magical creatures existed.
Fred and George’s older brothers, Charlie and Bill, told him about Hogwarts, a magical school that all the wizards and witches in Britain went to when they turned eleven. Charlie even explained what Quidditch was and how he was the Gryffindor seeker.
Harry couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of flying on a magic broom and trying to find a small golden ball with wings but he couldn’t wait until he got to Hogwarts so he could try out.
The coolest thing by far though about living with the Weasleys, what Harry was looking forward to the most, was the celebration they planned for his birthday.
Harry had never celebrated his birthday. The Dursleys hadn’t cared for any parties besides the ones they put on for Dudley and most of the time they’d forget about it completely.
Today though, he was going to have a birthday party. Fred and George had told him everything his party would have and Harry had never been more thrilled for something in his life.
They said there’d be charmed balloon animals, toy wands that shot out sparks, all of his favorite snacks and candy, and magical games that they promised to teach him. George said that Miss Molly would bake a cake too and since he was the birthday boy he’d get to have two slices.
Harry was a little overwhelmed that they were going to do all this for him. He’d tried to tell Mr. Arthur that they didn’t have to do it but he just crouched down and told Harry that he deserves to have a birthday party. Harry didn’t know if he agreed but Mr. Arthur seemed sad when he said it so Harry didn’t bring it up again.
The door bursting open distracted his mind from going down a path he much rather avoid and Harry flipped over to see who it was.
“HARRY!”
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
Two streaks of red hair was all the warning he got before Fred and George pounced on the bed and smothered him in birthday wishes. A third body soon joined the dog pile and Harry saw a sleep rumpled Ron smiling while he bounced on the bed.
Ron leaned down close and whispered, “Happy birthday, mate.” right before chaos erupted between the twins.
“Harry! Since it’s your birthday mum-”
“Mum’s gonna make pancakes! Birthda-”
“Birthday tradition!”
“George I was gonna tell him.”
“You ruined it first.”
“Well that’s just cuz you’re too slow.”
“You’re both too slow.”
Overlapping voices rose in volume as Ron joined the bickering and Harry could only sit there and giggle about how silly it all was. Eventually a shout was heard from down below as Miss Molly announced that the pancakes were done and the three boys immediately went quiet before a sudden scrambling to get off the bed occurred.
Harry let himself be carried in the tangle of limbs and the four boys rushed down the stairs, ready to start their day of partying.
His chest was filled with so much warmth that he felt like he was gonna burst, like the sun was in his chest and its rays were leaking out and wrapping him in a cozy hug.
He never knew that happiness like this existed but he was so glad that he’d found it. Fred and George Weasley changed his life for the better and he hoped that they’d always stay best mates.
(And maybe a small part of him hoped that eventually they’d be brothers.)
Harry was right in a way; school was his savior, just not how he expected it to be.