"Dear Merlin!" Minerva was the first to voice her shock. She shot a quick glance at Albus, and in that moment, she felt a bit of fear for him for the first time in her life. He was absolutely furious, she could just feel the raw power coming off him in waves.
"Minerva, get Harry and take him to Hogwarts" was the first he said.
At first she didn't know what to do, Harry needed immediate help, but she didn't know if it was wise to leave Albus alone with the Dursleys in this state. Who cares what happens to them anyway?
Albus, seeing her hesitation, said:
"Go now, dear."
So she quickly ran over to the little child, took him in her arms and apparated to Arabella's, where she could use the Floo.
In the meantime, Petunia had also come down to the basement and stood now cowering in fear behind her husband, who was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, realising who stood in front of him.
"I left Harry here, knowing you didn't like magic, or that you maybe wouldn't love him like your own, but I thought that at least you would treat your own nephew properly. I -" he was suddenly cut off by Vernon who had found his voice again.
"Take that little freak back with you, and don't you ever dare come back here again! I don't want any-"
"Silence!" Albus almost lost control of his magic. "I will be taking him back with me, no child deserves what you did to him, and believe me when I say there will be consequences."
With that said, Albus apparated to Arabella's house, leaving two very scared Dursleys behind.
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Arabella had just gotten home from her shopping, when Minerva apparated into her living room, holding a unconscious Harry.
"I have no time to explain, Arabella, Albus will be arriving soon." Minerva said, and then dissapeared into the fireplace.
Not too long after that Albus did indeed arrive. Arabella had never seen him like this, the normally calm man, with the twinkling eyes was completely gone.
"Albus what has happened?"
So Albus told Arabella the story, interrupted a few times by her exclamations of shock.
"I am so sorry Albus, I never noticed anything wrong..."
"It is alright, but if you will excuse me now, I have to go check on Harry."
"Of course, let me know how he is, ok?"
"I'll send you an owl as soon as possible." He threw some powder into the fireplace and dissapeared in the flames.
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When Albus arrived at the hospital wing, he saw Minerva sitting besides Harry's bed, and Madam Pomfrey busy searching various potions.
"How is he, Poppy?" Albus asked while looking at the small child lying in the bed.
"He is malnourished, has a bruised ribcage, several bruises - older and new ones - all over his body, and a lot of blood loss. I can only give him a potion for blood loss, and some salve for his bruises, the rest will have to heal naturally."
"But he will be fine?"
"Yes, it will take some time for him to heal, emotionally too, but I believe he will be fine."
Albus let out a small, relieved sigh.
Minerva had been watching the exchange and noticed that Albus' eyes never left Harry. She saw concern in his eyes, but also something else, was it..guilt?
"Poppy, I want to take Harry to my private chambers, that way I can keep a better eye on him."
Ofcourse Poppy strongly disagreed with the Headmaster, and she got into an argument with him, but in the end she gave in. Who could say no to Albus anyways?
So, Harry was moved to the Headmasters' private quarters, after being checked over by Poppy once more. Albus, of course, got strict instructions from Poppy on how apply the salve, since she was going to spend a few weeks with her sister and would be leaving tomorrow.
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Later that night, Albus and Minerva found themselves sitting on the couch in Albus' living room. They had been sitting next to Harry's bed for a while, watching him sleep, until Minerva decided she had to talk to Albus. So they sat on the couch, where they had spent many hours just talking to each other during the school year. Those times were the highlights of their days, something they both looked forward to everyday. Not that they admitted that to each other, of course. They both sat in comfortable silence for a while, both thinking about the same, untill Minerva snapped out of her thoughts and turned back to the problem at hand. She decided to get straight to the point.
"Albus, I know you blame yourself, but you really shouldn't."
He looked up, rather surprised that she knew how he felt, but then, she always had been the only one to know his actual feelings.
"But Minerva, I put him there, It was my decision -"
"None of that Albus. You did what you thought was best for him, and you can't be blamed for that. We both made a mistake that night, but we won't help Harry now if we get consumed by our own guilt."
"I know my dear, I know" and with that Albus put his head in his hands, and did something no one, not even Minerva, had ever expected him to do: Albus Dumbledore cried.
Minerva quickly got over her shock, moved over to him, and simply held him, for as long as he needed it.
After a while, when Albus had calmed down, he spoke to her:
"Thank you dear."
"Don't say anything, we all need a good cry sometimes."
"And that's coming from you," he gave a small smile to her and gave her a warm hug.