The Stubborn Old Headmaster
by Healer Teddylonglong

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! Dumbledore bashing!

It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse. Thank you so much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter!

Severus gave his godson a sharp look. "Harry, are you able to walk in your animal form?" he enquired. "If so, you should step in front of the mirror and get a good look at yourself in order to know what to search for." Seeing that the animal in front of him gave him what he supposed was a questioning look, he explained, "I can imagine that we'll have to look through a lot of books about magical animals in the library before we'll be able to find out what your form truly is. I've never seen such an animal."

Severus and Harry spent the rest of the day in the library, only interrupted by a quick break to the Great Hall for lunch. Suddenly, Severus let out a gasp, pointing to the page he was just looking at. "Harry, you're a Chameguise! You'll possibly be able to help Tom with this form." He pointed out the information about a Chameguise, raising an eyebrow at his godson, who gave him an enquiring look. "Listen, Harry," he continued and started to read aloud from the 'Encyclopaedia of Rare Magical Creatures'.

辞典始め

Chameguise

The Chameguise is the magical equivalent to the chameleon in the muggle world with the additional abilities of the Demiguise, the provider of the invisibility cloak (refer to Demiguise). The Chameguise is said to be able to shift its shape to any other magical or non-magical animal, able to change its colour and form, turn invisible, and to duplicate itself. It is an extremely rare animal, thus it is not well-known and may have abilities that have yet to be discovered.

辞典終わり

Harry stared in awe at the professor. 'That's the description of me when I'm an animal? Impossible,' he thought. 'That would be too good to be true. But… Uncle Severus said I could help Tom with the animal. How would I do that? Hmm.'

"Harry?" Severus called the child, slowly getting impatient to know why Harry didn't show any reaction to the information about the fabulous animal he was able to transform into. "What's wrong, child? Shouldn't you be dancing around the room with joy?"

'Ah, but do you really believe that I have all these abilities?' Harry thought to his godfather, looking at the older wizard in doubt. 'Plus, you said I could help Tom, but I don't know how.'

"According to the encyclopaedia, you should be able to duplicate yourself," Severus answered and patiently explained, "As far as I've understood from what you told me, Tom just needs a body. If you duplicated yourself, as the book says it wouldn't take half of you but multiply you so that it wouldn't hurt you to give one of the two parts away. Then Tom could use the second animal."

Noticing that Harry was looking at him in awe and understanding, Severus continued, "As far as I can imagine, Tom would have all your abilities as well as your features…"

'Then he would look like me?' Harry interrupted the teacher with a quick thought.

"Yes, but he can shape-shift like you, right? So he could shift himself into his own features at any time." He leaned forward so that his face came very close to Harry's and gave him an intense look. "Harry, you don't have to do that if you don't want to. Also, I have to speak with Tom, before you do anything to help him. We have to be sure that you have really cleansed him of the evil he was before. Otherwise, we'll eventually regret having helped him."

'Can you talk to him then before we try out any more?' Harry thought back.

"Yes, I'll do that," Severus replied, slightly nodding his head.

Severus stayed quiet for a few minutes. 'Ah, he's probably talking to Tom,' Harry thought in relief and tiredly leaned back in his seat. After his nightmare during the previous night, he had slept but it hadn't been a calm or refreshing sleep, and now he was becoming really tired.

By the time Severus turned back to Harry, the child was already asleep. Severus sighed and carefully shook Harry's shoulder. "Harry, I need you to wake up now. Are you feeling all right?" he added when Harry startled opened his eyes.

'Yes, I'm just tired,' Harry thought back. 'We don't have to do that now, do we?'

"No, we can't. You know that you have to be really fit and well rested to do the transformation. Maybe you can tell Tom that you're too tired to do it right now and that you will contact him whenever you're able to help him. Harry, I want you to transform, duplicate yourself and transform back before you call him to come anyway to make sure that you'll be safe," Severus replied sternly. "Now let's head to the Great Hall; it's time for dinner."

Harry groaned. 'Can I just return home? I'm too tired to eat right now,' he thought back a bit whiny.

Severus gave the child a thoughtful look. Normally, he did not sound so cranky and he always attended meals even if he did not eat much. "Harry, are you feeling ill?" he finally asked. "Maybe I should have Aunt Poppy check on you quickly."

"No!" Harry replied very upset, not caring that he spoke aloud. "I'm fine," he added in the same way.

Severus smirked and replied sternly, "If you're fine, then you'll accompany me to the Great Hall for dinner. Come on, let's go." He quickly made a copy of the page about the Chameguise and headed for the door, making sure that Harry was following him, even if a bit slowly.

ああ大変でした

After dinner, Harry went to bed immediately, and Severus, Poppy, and Minerva sat together for a while talking about Harry and his abilities. Severus showed them the parchment about the Chameguise, shocking his colleagues with the unexpected news.

"At least, it can help Harry hiding from Albus if necessary," Minerva stated dryly.

"Now, Minerva, he'll probably be going to Azkaban tomorrow," Poppy told her friend calmingly. "At least he won't be here in the school any longer."

As soon as the two ladies had adjusted to the news about Harry's abilities, Severus told them about Tom, eliciting a huge gasp from the women.

"Tom Riddle AKA Voldemort, You-Know-Who?" Minerva asked, flabbergasted. "Harry is talking to him through the scar? I can't believe it. Severus, are you sure?"

"Oh my, just think about what he could do to the child," Poppy added, no less shocked than her friend.

"It's all right," Severus said, calmly. "I've talked to him as well, and it seems that Harry in spite of not knowing what he did somehow by an unknown power managed to cleanse him and talk to him in his mind like to an imaginary friend. Tom was obviously pulled forward to aid Harry by speaking to him when he was so ill and couldn't talk to anyone. Anyway, Harry seems to have vanquished the evil that possessed Tom, and brought forth all the good that he should have had if the evil had not consumed him." Severus explained patiently to his now stunned friends.

"Oh, by the way, I have discovered a way to make Harry speak," he continued, smirking. "He fell asleep in the library and was very whiny, telling me he was tired and didn't want dinner, so I suggested to him to let Poppy check on him because he might be ill. He became so upset that he replied aloud."

"Yes, it's the emotions," Minerva said thoughtfully. "I've noticed before that he spoke when he was very emotional about something."

"Nevertheless, I forbid you to anger the child just to make him speak. Harry is very delicate, and you have to be careful with him," Poppy spoke up in a no-nonsense voice, glaring daggers at Severus before she turned to Minerva. "Is something wrong with Harry? I noticed that he looked tired and barely ate anything at dinner."

Minerva sighed. "I don't think so. Last night, he had a nightmare about the night his parents died. He fell asleep fairly quickly after a glass of warm milk laced with a sip of a pain reliever for the headache, but maybe he didn't slept well even after that. It could also be that he was too worked up because of his animal form or because he knows that the trial against Albus is going to take place tomorrow. I think that he's all right though," she added, smiling.

今度こそ頑張りましょう

In the morning, Harry woke up early. A glance at his clock told him that it was only six o'clock in the morning. 'I feel fresh and well rested, so maybe now is the perfect time to try and help Tom,' Harry thought eagerly, quickly jumping out of his bed. 'Tom, I think we could try it out now,' Harry thought to his friend.

'Are you sure, Harry?' Tom asked back. 'I don't want you to hurt yourself or put yourself into danger just to help me. Is Severus with you now?'

'No, should he be?' Harry questioned in spite of knowing that he shouldn't try to change into his animal form on his own.

'Yes Harry, please only try when Severus is with you,' Tom replied in a very stern voice.

Harry sighed and thinking of his godfather asked, 'Uncle Severus, are you awake? I'd like to try to help Tom now!'

'Now? Where are you, Harry?' he received a sleep-stricken thought in return.

'I'm in my room; should I come to your quarters?'

'I don't know if Tom will be able to enter Hogwarts, so let's meet in the entrance hall,' Severus answered.

うまく行くと良いなあ

Ten minutes later, Harry met Severus in the entrance hall. The professor gave him a piercing look. "Are you feeling well enough to try today, Harry?"

Harry gave back an excited, "Yes!", already heading outside before he asked, 'Where are we going?'

"Let's go in the direction of Hagrid's, hut so that we won't be seen from the castle. I know that barely anyone is there, but nevertheless…"

Five minutes later, Harry transformed into his Chameguise form. "Harry, are you still feeling fit enough to try to duplicate yourself?" Severus asked, and Harry gave him a small nod. "All right then, do you want to give it a try?"

Harry nodded again. 'Hmm, I have no idea how I'm supposed to do that. Do I just have to think about being there twice? All right, I'll just have to try. Uncle Severus is with me, so if something happens he'll be here to help me,' Harry tried to assure himself before he abandoned all other thoughts and tried to duplicate himself. But he was still so unstable on his four small legs that he kept stumbling and it distracted him too much to concentrate on the task ahead. 'Uncle Severus, I can't concentrate. I keep thinking I'm going to fall over.'

Severus smirked and raised an eyebrow at the small but powerful animal in front of him. "Harry, maybe if you lie down and make yourself comfortable on the ground it might help?" he asked softly, noticing how his godson was obviously struggling to stay on his feet.

'No, that doesn't work. Maybe I have to duplicate one part of my body after the other like before,' Harry thought desperately thinking of himself with a second head. Immediately, his vision became unfocused and he felt very sick. He couldn't even think properly anymore.

Severus looked horrified at the animal with the two heads in front of him. "No, Harry, that doesn't work. You have two heads now. Can you wish one head away?"

'I have to… what's that over there… try to… where's Hagrid going… to vanish… I didn't know that… I'm going to be sick… he can apparate…' Harry's thoughts were going haywire. He somehow managed to push his heads up from the ground and emptied the contents of his stomach through both mouths onto the ground before he let out two deep sighs and lay back on the ground to rest.

Severus quickly scourgified the mess and sat next to his godson, giving him a worried look. "Harry, can you try to change back into your human form?" he asked softly, feeling slightly uncomfortable as four green eyes were looking at him in clear desperation.

Ten minutes later, Harry's condition had not yet changed at all. Severus sighed. "So, I assume that you're not able to change back by yourself at the moment," he said pensively, watching the two heads piercingly in order to notice every possible reaction but nothing happened. "Harry, can you show me which of the heads your normal head is?" Severus tried again, and this time, Harry's left foreleg pointed to the left head.

"Very good," Severus commended the child. "Now, I'm going to try to stun your right head, so that you can get your thoughts in order and transform back," he said pensively, hoping that it would work. When he did not receive any reaction from Harry, he stood up and raised his wand pointing it at the animal's right head, noticing that the animal was trying to get up but at the same time pushing itself down to the ground and that the right head's green eyes were glaring daggers at him. Not wanting to hurt his godson, he cast a very mild stunning spell at the right head, glad to see the head fall onto the ground with a shocked expression.

Harry groaned. 'I don't know what happened but I still feel uncomfortable and sick. But at least I'm able to think properly again. So, what was it that I was going to do?' he mused, lazily.

"Harry, can you just try to change back into your human form if you can't get rid of your second head?" his godfather's calm voice penetrated his ear.

'I'll try,' Harry thought back, before he once more tried to concentrate on his shape shifting task.

Ten minutes later, Harry transformed back into his human form, sobbing silently. 'I'm sorry, Uncle Severus, I don't know how to duplicate myself. I've tried so many times, but it just won't work. I'm sorry.'

Severus stepped over to the child and lowered himself onto the ground next to him and carefully pulling him into an embrace. He was glad that the boy only slightly flinched at the touch. "Harry, it's all right. Tom just has to wait, that's no problem. You need to practise for a while until you'll be able to duplicate yourself. Remember you're the only Chameguise, so nobody is able to teach you. All right now, let me take you back to your quarters, otherwise Aunt Minerva will be very worried when she wakes up and you're not there. We can try again tomorrow morning."

When Harry didn't move, Severus gave him a worried look. "Harry, what's wrong? Are you still feeling sick?"

'Yes. My head also hurts really badly. I'm sorry; it was a stupid thing to just duplicate my head,' Harry replied faintly.

"All right, then let me carry you back to your room, and I'll give you a potion to make you better, all right?" Not waiting for an answer as Harry's eyes were closed, he scooped up the child and carried him to Gryffindor.

Ten minutes and a few potions later, Harry was soundly asleep in his bed, while Severus explained the morning's events to a very upset Minerva. "I'm only glad that you were with him, Severus; thanks for your help," she said finally.

"Don't worry, Minerva. Harry knows that he can only do such experiments when one of us is with him, and believe me after what happened today, he will never try such a thing on his own," Severus assured his friend in his calming, silky voice.

さあ何が起きるでしょう

Harry slept until Minerva woke him up in time to go to the Ministry for Dumbledore's second trial. The trial took place in the same room, where it had been held the week before, and was again open to the public. At first, the judge repeated the charges and explained that Dumbledore had to be questioned again as he had obviously been taking an antidote to the Veritaserum before the previous trial. He also made clear to the audience that Dumbledore had already spent twenty-four hours at the Ministry and had been administered a potion that cleared any antidote he may have taken from his system. As everyone else had already been questioned, this time, the witnesses did not have to repeat their statements. After being administered the Veritaserum, the judge asked Dumbledore about the same questions that he had already asked the last time.

"Did you place the child with his relatives, the Dursleys?"

"Yes, they were his only living relatives, and I wanted the boy to grow up in the muggle world, far away from his fame."

"Did you know that his relatives hate the boy?"

"Not really, I only knew that they hate magic and that Lily hated her sister."

"Why did you take Harry back to his relatives?"

"I wanted him to grow up there. I needed Harry to grow up as a helpless boy with his magic detesting relatives. I wanted to rescue him when it was time for him to come to Hogwarts, and I wanted it to be me that helped him vanquish Voldemort later on."

"Healer Pomfrey showed you Harry's injuries when he was brought to Hogwarts for the first time, didn't she?"

"Yes, but the Dursleys did just as I told them. I told them they could do whatever they wished, as long as it wouldn't harm his magic that would be necessary later to vanquish Voldemort."

"Do I understand you correctly? You left the boy with his relatives to be hurt, so that you could be the one to rescue him and assure yourself of his trust and help later on?"

"Exactly."

'How stupid did he think I was? I'd have surely noticed later on when I'd come to Hogwarts,' Harry thought, getting very upset.

"What did the Potters' will say about Harry? Did they want the boy to grow up with his relatives?"

"No, they wanted him to be placed with his godfather Sirius Black. But as nobody knew that he wasn't the Potters' Secret Keeper, I managed to convince the Ministry to put him into Azkaban, and as his godmother is in St. Mungo's, none of them could take the boy in."

"Sirius Black is innocent?" the judge asked incredulously.

"Yes. Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper."

"Who else knows about this?"

"Only I knew that they changed, because I cast the Fidelius charm, and of course Voldemort, but I kept it a secret, because I didn't want Mr. Black to raise the boy."

After a thirty-minutes break, the judge announced the verdict. "I hereby sentence Albus Dumbledore to the loss of his position as headmaster as well as Professor at Hogwarts henceforth, loss of his seats on the Wizengamot and all other magical positions of power, as well as a ten year stay at the wizarding prison Azkaban. We'll fix a date for a proper trial for Sirius Black as soon as possible. You will be informed accordingly."

The moment the judge finished his sentence, four Aurors walked over to Dumbledore in order to lead him away from the courtroom. The whole courtroom was flabbergasted, however, upon seeing the old man suddenly transform into a phoenix and flash away in a flash of fire just before the Ministry guards were able to take him into custody.