Disclaimer I don't own Harry Potter and anything that's recognizable belongs to J K Rowling.
CHAPTER 10 - Discussions
After Harry went into the room, everyone sat down, looking exhausted.
"He obviously must leave Hogwarts immediately," Snape said.
"And where will he go Severus?" McGonagall asked.
"I don't care! But he can't stay here! We've expelled all of the other students and they left Hogwarts. Why can't we do the same to him?" Snape spat back.
"He's already been expelled! But he can't go to those muggles. Not just because of how they treat him, but because he might, no he will, kill them!" McGonagall almost yelled in hysteria.
"Everyone just calm down" Dumbledore intervened.
"But Headmaster-" Snape tried to say.
"No Severus. You each have valid points. But now is not the time to fight. We need to figure out what to do with young Mr. Potter" Dumbledore said. No one knew what to say. They were still all in shock about what they found out. They never thought that their savior would join forces with the dark. It was more than upsetting. It was outrageous.
"He must stay here" Dumbledore said.
"What! You can't possibly allow him to stay here! He's a danger to the other students" Snape yelled.
"Severus, you must see-" Dumbledore tried to explain.
"See? See what? That if we just keep him here he would turn from the dark? I'd like to see that happen Headmaster, since there's no way that he would turn from the dark when he willingly joined them in the first place" Snape said.
"And what about you, Severus? Didn't you turn from the dark?" Dumbledore countered.
"Yes, but that's different" Snape said.
"And how? And you said yourself, he willingly joined the dark. But how true is that? When had Mr. Potter given any indication of the desire to join Voldemort?" Dumbledore questioned, ignoring the flinch at Voldemort's name.
"But there's no reason for him to join the Dark Lord! Which leaves the only option, that he joined out of his own free will" Snape said.
"But we can't be sure, can we Severus? We don't know what Voldemort used to threaten Mr. Potter with. He can be quite cunning" Dumbledore sadly admitted.
"Well then lets get him in here and see, shall we? I'm sure he'll just denounce the Dark Lord now that we know what side he's on" Snape sarcastically said.
"Before, however, we will need to decide what to do with Mr. Potter, if, and only if he really joined Voldemort out of his own desire" Dumbledore said.
"Can we not have him moved to a safe house where he will be watched at all times by Order members?" McGonagall suggested.
"No, no. I don't think that will do any good. He would most likely try to find a way to get to Voldemort. And with his connection with him, who knows what that could cause" Dumbledore said.
"No, his best place his here" Dumbledore said.
"No absolutely not! Headmaster you can't allow a known Death Eater to reside here! And I don't count" Snape said with outrage.
"I must agree with Severus, Headmaster. We can not simply let him stay here" McGonagall said.
"What other choice do we have?" Dumbledore asked and when no one replied continued, "We will keep him in a room that is locked at all times. Meals will be delivered by the house elfs and no one would have to come in contact with Mr. Potter, and Mr. Potter would have no reason to leave his room. Hogwarts is the safest place for him to stay. There will be no way that Voldemort can come here to get Mr. Potter nor will Mr. Potter be able to leave" Dumbledore said.
"And where do you suppose this room will be?" Snape asked.
"In your quarters Severus" Dumbledore said. Snape was furious with the statement.
"What! No! I won't allow it!" Snape yelled furiously.
"But Severus, you won't even have to see him at all. His room will be in your quarters, but that does not mean you will see him. He will be locked in the room and no one will be able to enter his room, unless they have the password, which only us three here will have. He will have a bathroom attached to his room, so there's no need to use your bathroom. He will be safest there. He won't be able to get out of your quarters without your password so even if he was able to get out of his room, he won't be able to get out of your quarters. No one else has quarters as heavily warded as yours. It only makes sense" Dumbledore explained.
"Headmaster, I simply can not allow this. It's not just me your endangering, but also the other students. What will the Dark Lord think when he finds out who is keeping one of his followers locked away?" Snape said.
"No one will be endangered. Mr. Potter will not have any contact with any student and not even you, unless absolutely necessary. And Voldemort will never find out if Mr. Potter can not tell him. And since no student here at Hogwarts will know where Mr. Potter is, Voldemort will not find out" Dumbledore said.
"But how sure are you. The Dark Lord will be desperate to have Potter on his side, and if Potter doesn't show up when he calls, the Dark Lord will know somethings going on" Snape said.
"Then we will deal with it when it comes, but for now Mr. Potter will be residing in a room in your quarters. Unless of course he did not willingly join Voldemort" Dumbledore said, although everyone was pretty sure that Harry joined Voldemort out of his own free will. Though no one could understand why.
"Now lets bring Mr. Potter back in here and we will let him know of our decision" Dumbledore said.
"I can not believe that you're going to allow Potter to stay at Hogwarts. This will backfire; mark my words. I will not risk my life for that brat" Snape said.
"Calm down Severus, this will not backfire. Now lets inform Mr. Potter of our decision. Minerva?" Dumbledore said, motioning to McGonagall to open the door where Harry was kept in.
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