This chapter is so wonderful - I genuinely cried, and not very many fanfics have managed to make that happen. I particularly like the revelation of Moody's feelings about Lupin. And while I don't know if it was a dream or a vision halfway between the real world and the afterlife, the scene in Harry's cupboard was truly gut-wrenching. It's actually surprisingly glossed-over in the books, because Harry seems to be so well-adjusted despite his awful childhood, but his treatment by the Dursleys was neglectful to the point of torture. Very very well done.

Author's Response: Thank you so much. I am so glad you liked it and that you found it moving (that was what I was going for!). I am also glad you liked the friendship between Lupin and Moody. I figured that since they were both in the Order, and since Lupin lost all his friends in a single night, the likes of Moody and Dumbledore would look out for him and make sure he is alright. So I just went with a friendship between Moody and Lupin, just because for me it just felt like it worked and that it could have been what actually happened.

I am glad you liked the vision/dream bit. I know what you mean about it being glossed over in the books, but it kinda had to be done like that because Philosopher's Stone was written for children and you can't really explore cruelty like that in a book designed for 11 year olds. The idea for this fic just came out of a desire to capture how truly dreadful Harry's early years in Privet Drive were, that and I figured that at some point Lupin or Dumbledore or someone may have checked up on him secretly, especially since Lupin had such a lovely 12 years between the deaths of Lily and James and his job at Hogwarts, and so this fic came into being.

I am so glad you liked it. I'll have the final chapter where Lupin sees Harry up as soon as I can! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing - I really appreciate it :)