Chiyoku says: Hey! I guess it's been too long since I updated last… I apologize, and my excuse is simply life and its many stressful situations. I can't believe so many months passed since I last updated.
I'm so happy everyone's enjoying this story. I was planning this whole thing that I was gonna say….but now I forgot what it was. XD
So…
Enjoy!
Alternation Nation
A fanfiction by Chiyoku Shibata
Recap: Draco gets angry and worried when he finds out, through Granger's Journal, that Dumbledore is Harry's Magical Guardian. He immediately writes to his father about it, and sends it off. Draco and the rest get caught by Dumbledore on the way back from the Owlery, and Harry gets taken to Gryffindor house. After being left alone, Harry talks to Neville about the incident involving Bellatrix and his parents, and Ron interrupts, angry that Harry isn't following Dumbledore's commands to be friends with him. Ron curses Harry, and Neville curses Ron. Meanwhile, Lucius is at the Ministry talking with Fudge, and manages to convince the man to start an investigation into several things involving Harry, and he also gets temporary custody of Harry.
Chapter 12: Schemes of the Silver kind
"Just what is all the ruckus?" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey, as she walked out of her office. Percy laid Harry in the first bed he saw, and turned to her, straightening with self importance. "Harry Potter was injured by Ronald Weasley, and now he's unconscious and bleeding."
Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened and she hurried over to the boy. She cast a couple of diagnostic spells, and frowned, while she took a chart and started writing her findings on it. "Anything else you know about what happened?" she asked, looking at Percy for a second before looking at her chart again.
"I was heading to do some rounds when I heard someone screaming for help. It was coming from the first year's dorm in Gryffindor House-" he started explaining, but he was interrupted at that point, by Madam Pomfrey, "what was Harry Potter doing in the Gryffindor dorms? He's a Slytherin."
"I was there when he first came in, the Headmaster brought him in and made him a Gryffindor." He answered, and Madam Pomfrey was shocked, and confused. Wasn't it only the hat that could sort the students?
"…Continue, please." She said, and Percy nodded, before he continued with his version of events. "I heard someone screaming for help, and when I came around the corner, I saw Ron…. Ronald, against the wall and laying on the ground, unconscious, inside the room was Harry Potter, also unconscious, and bleeding. Another first year….Neville, I think, had Harry's head on his lap and he was crying and shocked. He told me that Ron had provoked Harry and then cursed him with something purple, and then Neville retaliated by casting Expelliarmus on Ron. I immediately levitated Harry, and brought him here. I told Neville to get Professor Snape. That's it…"
Madam Pomfrey nodded, without looking at the Prefect; all weirdness of the situation aside, she was trying to think what spells she knew would come out purple. Of course, if this had been the result of accidental wish magic, then who knew what it could be. She'd seen it many times in the past, a student casting a spell without actually saying anything, simply as a result of a particularly strong emotion… in this case, anger, and a desire to harm, most likely.
She shook her head as she healed whatever she could, the bleeding simply a result of being thrown back by the magic, and hitting something, whether a bed or a chair, she didn't know, but it was a simple thing to heal. Meanwhile she started to think, Harry Potter was now the second student this year to be injured directly and/or indirectly, by both Ronald Weasley and Dumbledore himself.
When this came out, if it came out, it wouldn't look good at all. Of course, considering the fact that she had read the article in the Prophet that same morning, it wasn't unlikely that it could, and probably would, come out. Thankfully, being a healer, made her completely neutral in all these situations. Almost every healer she knew had taken oaths, they were required to be able to receive a Mastery in healing. Those that didn't take oaths, weren't trusted in normal circles and they most likely weren't very good in the first place.
She sighed when she realized there wasn't much she could do for Harry Potter. The boy didn't seem to be physically injured, and a simple Enervate didn't do the trick in waking him up. It might be a simple matter of waiting until he woke up on his own. But it would probably be better to send him off to a specialist. Not that Dumbledore will allow that, unless someone else interferes and the man is given no choice.
Neville huffed, and rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead to dry the drops of sweat. He was so tired of running, but thankfully, his tiredness was working as a shield against the fear he would normally feel in the presence of Slytherins and Professor Snape.
The Slytherins did the talking, and they quickly started making their way to the Hospital Wing. Professor Snape, though, ended up asking Neville the whole story, since he was there when the whole thing went down. Neville explained, but he stared at the floor the whole time, since he wasn't that brave.
Snape was surprised that Dumbledore had acted so fast, but with the anger the man had felt when he read the article, it shouldn't have been that surprising. Still, he better write Lucius with the update, he knew Lucius was already acting on the last letter he had sent through Draco, which was not that long ago, now that he thought about it. Things were progressing faster than he liked, and he hoped that Lucius was acting fast, as well.
"You three, go back to what you were doing. Longbottom, keep walking with me." Instructed Snape, he needed to get Longbottom on his own for some moments, and his Slytherins probably wanted to spread the word about what the idiot Weasley did to Potter.
Soon, Neville was walking behind Professor Snape, watching the man and then looking away, and when they were finally right outside the Hospital Wing, in a section without any portraits, he saw Professor Snape conjure some parchment, and a quill. The man wrote a quick note, and folded it, before turning to look at him, with a look on his face that was more serious than usual.
"I will give you this note, and I'm trusting you to go and send it off right away, to Lucius Malfoy. Do you understand?" said Snape, and Longbottom looked at him with a mix of curiosity and fear. "I'm giving this to you so no one suspects it's a note from me. It is very important that no one but Lucius Malfoy reads this, and it is very important he reads it as soon as possible." He finished explaining.
Neville sniffed, "is it… is it about Harry?" he asked, his voice low and hesitant. Snape thought for a few seconds, then, "yes, it's about what happened."
Neville nodded slowly and took the note, putting it in his robe's inner pocket quickly. Then he made an insightful comment that had Snape thinking twice about just how stupid he always thought Neville Longbottom was, "you don't want the Headmaster to know you're contacting Lord Malfoy, and he would never suspect you of trusting me, of all people." He said, almost whispering it to himself, but loud enough for Professor Snape to hear.
Snape didn't do anything to answer the boy's comment, and the boy went off, leaving Snape to go into the infirmary by himself.
Madam Pomfrey was there, walking around, and occasionally casting another diagnostic spell on Harry, while the Gryffindor Prefect, another Weasley…. Lucky him… was standing guard besides Harry's bed.
After getting the boy's story of events, he asked about where Ronald was, to which the boy answered by widening his eyes and excusing himself. Percy had forgotten about Ron! His little brother was probably still just laying there, unconscious, not that he didn't deserve it.
Meanwhile, Neville was walking furtively through the hallways, trying to avoid attention. He was being pretty successful, considering it was a Sunday. There were no classes on Sunday, and most of the students were hanging around their own common rooms, and walking around the grounds. It was then that Neville realized it was already noon, which meant that everyone would be heading to the Great Hall for lunch already. That explains why I haven't run into anyone, yet. He thought to himself, soon he was walking into the common room, he looked around as he headed towards the stairs, there's no one around, good. He thought as he walked up to his room.
"Oh…" he whispered when he saw Ron still unconscious on the floor. He licked his lips, uncertain, before taking a deep breath and walking into his dorm room, and closing the door. He left Ron exactly where he was, unconscious on the floor, outside the first year's dorm room.
"Trevor?" he whispered, looking around the room. Soon, his little pet appeared hopping around the corner of a bed. Neville smiled, everyone always made fun of him for having a toad as a pet, but what no one knew was that Trevor wasn't just a pet. And that was one of the Longbottom family secrets, Trevor was a magical toad that had been trained, by one of his family members, to carry mail.
Neville kneeled in front of Trevor, and took Professor Snape's letter from his inner pocket. "Trevor, this letter is very important. I'm trusting you with it because no one can see you delivering it." He explained, and the toad croaked and stared at him.
"It's a letter for Lord Lucius Malfoy, it's urgent, so deliver it right away, alright?" said Neville, as he showed the letter to Trevor, before sticking it right on the back of the Toad. The letter stayed there as if it was stuck with glue. "O.k., go, now."
Trevor croaked again, and hopped away before disappearing with a pop right on the spot. Neville smiled in satisfaction, there was almost no safer way to send secure mail than his little Trevor. Of course, Neville never imagined he'd willingly use Trevor to send a letter from Snape to Malfoy Sr, of all people. But there was something about Harry Potter that just got to him, and made him doubt everything that his grandmother had been telling him all along.
He'd always believed that Bellatrix Lestrange had tortured his parents simply because she was a death eater, and according to his Grandmother, that's just what death eaters do. He'd never imagined that the story of his parent's torture wasn't as simple as everyone made it out to be. According to Harry Potter's book, Bellatrix had been tortured by Aurors for months, before she finally escaped. Of course, now Neville figured he'd have to buy himself a copy of the book, he wants to investigate this himself.
Trevor, meanwhile, appeared in a building full of people. He hid himself in a dark corner, because he could sense the person he was looking for was walking this way. He croaked once, and spotted his target, it was a very tall human with light hair. He waited until his target was about to turn the corner, right where he was standing, and he croaked loudly and hopped on the man's foot.
Lucius stopped short when he felt something jump on his foot. He looked down, and frowned, it was the oddest sight; a toad with a letter. He looked around, just to make sure that no one was looking at him, and he quickly leaned down and grabbed the toad. He frowned, looking into the eyes of the toad. The toad in question croaked and shifted uncomfortably. Just grab the letter, so I can go back to my Master, thought Trevor, directing the thought to his target.
Lucius was startled when he heard the voice coming from the toad. Then he stared at the letter, and noticed it had his name on it. He grabbed it and gently put the toad back on the floor. The toad hopped once and disappeared with a pop.
Lucius raised an eyebrow, well, I've seen oddest things than that…I think… he thought to himself, before he decided to open the letter now, and not wait until he got back home, as he would usually do. He had only just left the Minister's office, and was heading to the first floor to floo back home. He was rather proud of all he had accomplished.
Now he figured, though, that if this letter delivering toad had found him here, it must be that the letter it was carrying is important. Thankfully, since it was a Sunday, a lot of people had the day off, so the Ministry wasn't very busy. It also meant that Umbridge had been able to pull the most important paperwork through fast, without much interference. Now he was the proud guardian of Harry Potter. Normally, such paperwork wouldn't go through so fast, but, due to the circumstances surrounding it, Umbridge had used her power as undersecretary to the Minister, to work with a loophole that had allowed the paperwork to go through at lightning speed.
Let's see…oh, it's from Severus… he thought to himself, as he opened the letter. It was a short, but alarming, note.
"Dumbledore has shown me a document that grants him guardianship of Harry Potter. I think it's fake, but he's already used it and moved Harry Potter to Gryffindor. It had bad consequences, Ronald Weasley injured Harry Potter, and now he resides unconscious in the Hospital Wing. Neville Longbottom is a witness, and he injured Ronald Weasley as instinct, in retaliation. I'm afraid for Harry Potter, he's vulnerable while unconscious, who knows what compulsions Dumbledore might try to cast on him. Get here, fast!"
Lucius almost saw red as he finished reading the note, and he walked towards one of the fireplaces on the first floor, and flooed away. No going home now…there's no rest for the wicked… he thought to himself as he left.
Lucius stalked through the hallways of Hogwarts like a bird of prey whose chicks had been injured, and he knew just who the one responsible was.
"Dumbledore, step away from the boy!" he intoned loudly, as he stepped into the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore turned to look at him, a twinkle in his eyes, and a small smile adorning his wrinkled face. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Lucius. You see, Harry here is my ward, and as such, I can do whatever I like to him. You have no power here, so I suggest you leave."
They were alone in the infirmary, Harry was laying unconscious on a bed in the middle of the room, and Dumbledore had been standing next to him with his wand in his hand, staring into the boy's head, trying to read his thoughts and memories.
Lucius frowned and sneered, "That's where you're wrong, Albus. I have here a notarized document, signed by the Minister himself, and by the head of the Department of Children services. It states that as of right now, Harry Potter is under my care, pending a legal investigation into the actions taken by those assuming any guardianship of him from the moment his parents were declared legally dead."
Albus frowned, angered and slightly confused, his grip on his wand tightened but his eyes never lost their blasted twinkle. "I'm afraid all of that is not necessary, you see, I've been the boy's legal Guardian all this time, I have a document signed with magic with the names of his parents, and with Harry's signature as an infant. It assigns me as his legal guardian, thus, anything that concerns him is under my jurisdiction."
Lucius smirked, his eyes reflecting anger, "I'm afraid you don't understand the situation, Albus. This document I have overrides any others for as long as Harry's situation remains unresolved. There is an open investigation right now in regards of just where Harry Potter has been living all this time, why he has been disappeared for all these years, and, in cooperation with the Gringotts Goblins, finding out if the Potter's had a Will and why it hasn't been read.
Looking at Harry now, I can assure you charges of Child endangerment and abuse will be added into the investigation."
Albus almost growled, but contained himself when Madam Pomfrey bustled back into the Hospital Wing with Potions in her hands and Professor Snape in tow.
"I have a lawyer, and Aurors on standby, should you prove to be unwilling to cooperate, of course." Said Lucius, a triumphant look in his eyes, and a small wining smile on his face that only served to infuriate Albus all the more.
Albus realized there was nothing much he could do without making things worse for himself, he didn't know how the man had found out so much, and how he'd been able to act so fast; but Albus would make it his goal to find out what the man knew, and how to prevent him from finding out more.
But for now, Albus swallowed his rage, as his eyes darted between Madam Pomfrey, who was using her wand to check on Harry's vitals, and Professor Snape, who was studiously ignoring Albus in favor of rummaging through his bag of emergency potions.
Those two would be no help to him, Severus and Lucius had been friends practically since Severus started Hogwarts, with Lucius just two years ahead. And Madam Pomfrey had taken a magical oath when she graduated as a Medi-Witch that the welfare of her patients would always come first.
"Very well, but I demand to present for whatever medical treatments you have planned….for the good of Mr. Potter, of course, I am still his Headmaster…" Albus trailed off, then, his eyes lighting up again, and a small smile finding its way to his lips. "I am still his Headmaster, as such, I say Mr Potter needs to remain in the school, under the care of our Medi-Witch, after all, he was injured on school grounds."
Lucius sniffed in disdain, staring at Albus up and down as if he was staring at a dirty beggar, which of course, Albus was anything but. His family was perhaps never really wealthy, especially with his sister's sickness, but Albus had the wealth of Hogwarts at his disposal, one which he was accustomed to using with abandon for his own material needs. Lemon drops and eccentric robes didn't come cheap, after all, but still, when Lucius stared at him just like that, he felt like running to a mirror.
"I'm afraid, Headmaster, that we will be unable to comply to that request. My word is, as of right now, as good as if I was Harry Potter's biological parent. Therefore, you cannot force the boy to stay here against my will, especially with said child currently unconscious because you decided to move him to Gryffindor Towers." Said Lucius, his voice strong, and in control.
Albus frowned, and his lips curled into a small sneer, but he didn't say anything. He was still standing in between Harry, who was being tended to by Snape and Pomfrey, and Lucius, who was by the door. Suddenly he took a deep breath, and nodded, before slowly walking away from the bed.
Lucius refrained from making any noise or comment, although he was quite annoyed at the fact that Dumbledore was acting as if he was being gracious in moving away and allowing Lucius to get close to Harry.
"Dobby," he started to speak, and the small and jumpy house elf appeared with a pop, right next to his master. Lucius stared at the creature for a few seconds, before looking back at Harry, still unconscious but seemingly not in pain. "Gather all of Harry Potter's belongings and take them back to the manor."
"Dobby will do that, master." Said Dobby with his high voice, before disappearing once more. Lucius approached the bed, and took a slow deep breath as he stared at the boy.
Harry looked like he was simply sleeping, but he just wouldn't wake up. What had that awful boy done? No matter, first he should get Harry away from here, then he would deal with…Ronald Weasley…
Lucius already had his own personal Medi-Wizard on standby at the Manor, along with 2 aurors on loan from the ministry, for protection of the last heir of the Potter line, of course. The Aurors had come with him, and they were waiting outside the castle along with two others who had only come to escort them until they were safely inside Malfoy Manor.
Lucius didn't want to involve Severus any more than necessary, he wanted the man to have plausible deniability, since he would have to remain here at Hogwarts, and he did need whatever the Headmaster could offer him. Protection from the ministry, for one, since Lucius would need to sacrifice the certain image he was portraying if he lended his support to Severus. After all, it was only thanks to Dumbledore's word, saying that Severus had been a spy, that had kept the man from going to Azkaban.
"Madame Pomfrey, if there is anything of importance you found while checking on Mr. Potter, I would appreciate it if you would contact this man, at my Manor" said Lucius, handing the woman a piece of parchment with the name of his personal Medi-Wizard written down. Lucius was aware of Madam Pomfrey's oath, and he figured it would probably include whatever person she will contact in regards with Harry Potter's health. Lucius didn't want Dumbledore to hear the name of the man that would be in his home, and taking care of his new charge.
Madame Pomfrey nodded, and read the note before throwing it in the lit up fireplace. Dumbledore sneered, and scoffed, before looking away and sporting a blank look.
That man just thinks of everything, don't he…. Thought Dumbledore to himself, with a mental pout. "There's no need for such secrecy, you know, I'm not the muggle devil, I just want what's best for the boy." Said Dumbledore with a pout, his arms crossed, and looking away.
Lucius raised an eyebrow and turned around to face the Headmaster, "from what little I know of the situation with this boy….your definition of what's best for him leaves a lot to be desired. But if you honestly believe that, then I suggest you help, by getting out of my way."
Now Dumbledore turned back to Lucius and narrowed his eyes, his arms now by his sides, fingers twitching as he contained himself from reaching for his wand. "I won't, Lucius. Because you are not what's best for Harry. All you want is to turn him into another Draco. Worshiping the ground you walk on, and practicing Dark Spells on his free time. You don't care about Harry, all you want is the prestige of raising him, the power you'll gain within the Ministry by having him under your control!"
Lucius scoffed, "yes, because you know a little about that, don't you. But the difference is, Albus, that I actually care about the boy. I want him to be healthy, and I want to teach him all that his pureblood father would have taught him if he hadn't been killed under such suspicious circumstances."
"What do you mean suspicious, Lucius! Voldemort killed him and Lily, everyone knows that! And how dare you bring it up! You of all people! Such disrespect is exactly what I want to shield Harry from!" exploded Albus, his anger palpable, and his wand in his hand.
"No one really knows what happened, Albus. After all, it all happened so fast. By the time anyone knew that the Potters were dead, Harry was gone and all anyone had was your word that he was someplace safe. And from what you yourself told everyone, the only witnesses of what happened are all dead except for Harry Potter. The aurors weren't even able to find anything because the air was too saturated with magic, or at least that's what they wrote in their reports…so don't you dare lecture me about what's disrespectful and what's not.
"Besides, it's not like I lied. James may have worshipped the ground you walked on, but he was a pureblood, through and through. And as the last heir of his family, his parents would have been eager to teach him all there is to know. And I know I'm right about that because, as a child, I met James' parents at a society party. Time has a way distorting reality, Albus, you know that.
"But enough of this, I will take my leave now and take Harry with me." He finished speaking, and levitated Harry and walked away with the boy floating in front of him. Madam Pomfrey wanted to help, but Lucius left before she could say anything. It was probably for the best anyways, since Albus had a way of being able to go around magical oaths to get even a scrap of information from someone if he really wanted to.
Albus almost growled, but he moved out of the way and allowed them to leave. It would be detrimental to his cause if he got in the way, and as they say, live to fight another day; and that's what Albus decided to do, stand down now, and immediately contact his supporters at the Ministry. He didn't know how in the hell Lucius had managed to act so fast, but he would find out. There's no way anything Lucius did to get the paperwork so fast was legal. He needed to dig up some dirt and fast, before the investigation actually got started, and they found something…. And Albus knew, whatever people Lucius had working on this, would find something, since Albus hadn't acted in exactly any legal way.
Not that Albus felt his actions were wrong, exactly, since they were for the good of the boy. Albus didn't want the boy to grow up independent and under the influence of rich purebloods that were not under his control. Which he knew that's exactly what would have happened. If, or rather, when they start asking questions, there would be a lot more question and suspicions being dug up than answers, and a lot of those questions would lead them directly to Albus.
Blast it…I need to act fast! He thought to himself, and he left the Hospital Wing to go back to his office. First order of business….find out how serious Malfoy was, and if his threats and boasts about having the Ministry on his back about this was honest…I need to contact…mmhh….Kingsley Shacklebolt. I need to distance myself from the Weasley's for a while… between the Articles in the prophet, and now Ron's stupidity….no, it won't do at all to be seen with them…at least publicly.
I need to make sure someone within the Ministry talks about what Lucius' true intentions might be. Thought Albus to himself, as he rubbed his chin in thought, he's hardly doing this out of the goodness of his heart, I just have to make sure someone finds proof of his deceit. Albus smirked, and went right back to planning.
Harry, meanwhile, found himself in the dark, floating in nothing; unaware of where he was going, or what the people around him were planning. He didn't wonder to himself why?, or even where he might be, he just allowed himself to float in the nothing that surrounded him.
Then he found himself falling, and he felt a sensation of vertigo settle in his stomach. The darkness gave way to the sky, light blue, and light fluffy clouds which he just fell through fast, yet gently. He saw buildings forming way underneath him, and suddenly he wasn't falling anymore. He looked around, and noticed he was standing in the middle of a street.
People walked by him, ignoring him, as if he wasn't even there. Harry looked around confused, and then he was drawn to a building across the street. The building had a big front yard behind a tall metallic fence, and there were kids playing in the yard. Harry saw a wooden sign by the open door of the fence that read Orphanage, and after reading it, he walked in wearily.
One of the big reasons why he had never told anyone about how much his relatives hated him was because his Aunt and Uncle had made him fear Orphanages. They would tell him stories about how much kids were hated and tortured in those places, starved and then sold as slaves to families. They were probably exaggerating, but Harry wasn't going to take any chances anyways.
Still, this time Harry wasn't afraid to walk into this Orphanage, mostly because the kids in there actually seemed happy, and secondly, because Harry was pretty sure he was dreaming. Since the last thing he remembered was…standing in the Gryffindor common room, trying to convince Neville that his parents were to blame for their own demise, and then….oh, Ronald had attacked him.
Great, Harry thought with a roll of his eyes, so I'm unconscious, then? He added to himself, shaking his head, then he was startled when a kid ran right through him. Sheesh…I'm not dead….am I? He added with a scoff. But then Harry decided he would know if he was dead, especially since all this seemed too surreal to be actually real, so.
Still, the question remained, where in the hell was he? Why would he be dreaming of an Orphanage? And…why didn't it feel like a normal dream? Harry knew it wasn't a normal dream because he felt very much in control of his actions.
It was when he was walking around the yard, thinking and observing the playing kids, that Harry saw him. A kid was watching him, he looked younger than Harry, and he was staring at him from the inside of the building. The kid didn't look very happy, and he was alternatively staring at Harry and at the other kids as they played.
Suddenly he pointed at Harry and motioned for him to get close, so harry did. He was just too curious about the first person in this weird dream who could see him. Harry walked over to the closed window behind which the kid was standing, it was low and close to the ground, so when the kid opened the window, Harry was easily able to grab the offered hand and climb up and inside what turned out to be a small room.
Harry turned around and looked outside again, as the kid closed the window. No one had noticed, so Harry turned back and looked around the room. It was a small and sad room; quite bare, just a small bed, with a thin mattress and a cheap looking armoire. But Harry decided it was still infinitely better than his cupboard at the Dursley's. This place was roomier, and it even had a big window, whereas at the Dursley's there wasn't even any space to stand up straight anymore.
"Hi, Harry." Greeted the kid, from his place on the edge on the bed. Harry almost jumped, since he hadn't been expecting the kid to speak to him.
"Hi," greeted Harry, once his heart stopped trying to jump out of his chest, "…uhm …do you live here?" he asked with a small frown, as he looked around. He didn't even wonder how the kid knew his name, since this was a dream, after all, albeit a weird one.
The kid matched Harry's frown, but there was a certain measure of disgust and hate in that gaze that Harry found startling. "…In a manner of speaking, yes… I do live here, for the moment, at least."
"Oh."
"Sit, please. We need to talk." Said the boy in a serious tone of voice, to which Harry instinctively asked, "am I in trouble?" but the boy's eyes widened slightly at the question and he laughed, clearly amused.
"No, Harry, you're not in trouble. Now sit, here." Finished the boy, patting the space next to him on the bed. The boy seemed friendly enough, so harry sat down next to him, and it was a nice change of pace for Harry. He was used to dreaming about a red-headed woman and a man that was always next to her. It was a nice dream sometimes, when they weren't screaming in fright, and Harry was now pretty sure they were his parents. If it weren't for the screams, the green light, and the man yelling something about someone named Peter, it would almost be a nice dream to have all the time.
So, yes, Harry was grateful that he didn't have to bare the burden of the dream he always has, especially if his suspicions are correct and he's currently unconscious.
Harry was surprised when he stared at the boy, although he looked younger, he also looked older all the same. It was strange, but Harry felt as if he was being stared at by someone in the same level of Dumbledore, or Snape; someone, if not wise, then at least way older than him, someone that has seen a lot, and knows a lot. And although the boy at times gave him the same disconcerting feeling that Dumbledore gave him, as if he was trying to read him and figure him out, Harry wasn't scared or angry at this boy because of it.
"What's your name?" asked Harry, when he realized he still didn't know.
The boy then smiled, his smile seemed friendly enough, but there was something hidden behind that smiled, and Harry wasn't sure what it was. "My name is Tom…Tom Riddle." Answered the boy.
Harry was shocked, "Tom Riddle? I've heard of you! The sorting hat told me I reminded him of you! …But…why am I dreaming of you? And, why does this dream feel so real?"
Tom thought carefully about what to answer, he knew he had to be as honest as possible to gain the boy's trust, but he wasn't about to say he had once been Voldemort. "…Magic, obviously, Harry." He answered with an amused laugh. "I… feel real enough, but I think I'm in your head…or connected to you in some way."
Harry was shocked again, and more than a bit confused, "you're real? And, you're in my head? But…"
Tom shrugged, "I don't really know how, Harry." And that's true enough… he thought to himself, "I can't begin to guess…all I know is that I feel real, and I'm in your head…and I know that," he started explaining, as he saw Harry's confused and wondering expression, "…because I have access to your mind, to your thoughts and memories…"
Harry suddenly felt violated of his most sacred privacy, this kid had access to everything in his head? A mind is supposed to be safe from intruders, and accessible only to the person it belongs to.
Tom chuckled, "I'm sorry I'm laughing, Harry. But you clearly haven't been in the Wizarding World enough time, yet. Remember what the Headmaster tried to do to you during mealtime? When he tried to read your mind?" Harry nodded, "yeah…I could feel memories flashing through without me consciously thinking about them..I didn't like it."
Tom nodded, "well, that's only one way to read people's minds. There's many others that someone can learn. As for what happened between us, though… that was clearly an accident. I'm sorry, Harry."
Harry could feel that Tom's apology ran so much deeper than simply having read his mind, but he just couldn't figure out why. Tom continued speaking, "I can't give you a reason for our situation, I'm afraid…" because if I did you'd just become afraid of me… "but, my best guess is something happened that must have formed a connection between us…and then, whatever this Ron person did to you, awakened me…so to say."
Harry, frowned thoughtfully, "the night that Voldemort tried to kill me? Everyone says it was impossible…of course, no one was actually there so no one really knows what happened…but, it was…a… magical…event, so…"
Tom frowned, as if thoughtful, but inside he was more than just thoughtful. Since the night he had attacked Harry Potter, and accidentally placed a part of his soul inside the boy, he had been asleep, in a way. He had been sealed off, unable to move, just barely able to think. He had been trapped, and his anger had grown all that time; anger at Harry Potter, anger at Dumbledore…anger at himself. But ever since Ronald Weasley had cast, whatever it is he accidentally cast, he had been able to escape his confine and connect with Harry Potter's mind.
In short, after seeing everything the boy had gone through, from his life at his muggle relatives house, to him being sorted into Slytherin…and Dumbledore possibly being his guardian. Tom had been feeling… something, he wasn't sure what it was… remorse… guilt… maybe even a sense of… companionship, a connection, with the boy. He, too, had had a harsh life.
Looking back, Tom wasn't even sure what made him go from aspiring politician to crazed, maniacal killer. It sure didn't make sense to him… there was something missing here, but he didn't know what and that's what concerned him the most.
At the same time that Harry continued having this weird nondream, Lucius had finally gotten Harry through the wards of his Manor and had immediately surrendered control of the boy to his personal Medi-Wizard. The man was highly paid, and was one of the few English Medi-Wizards that were very sought after, the man was a genius in his field. He also had taken a very well worded Oath, written by Lucius himself, which meant there was no way to circumvent it and the man could be trusted with Harry's care, while Lucius left to take care of other things.
Lucius chuckled to himself as he entered his private office. He knew Dumbledore would try to overturn his word, but Lucius was smarter than that. Nothing he had done was actually illegal, as Dumbledore probably suspected. He had simply traded favors, and used his gift of the tongue to convince the Minister and his aids that helping him get custody fast was the best thing for all involved. All the right paperwork had gone through faster than one could cast lumos.
Really, I owe Umbridge a nice gift, perhaps a new pink robe… he thought to himself, and chuckled again out loud. It's going to be amusing having Dumbledore and his little band of merry blood traitors running around like a kicked over ant hill, trying to find any dirt on him.
Speaking of blood traitors…I'm due at the hospital in an hour…today is the arranged visit for the mudblood's parents. Amazing that she's still unconscious, really, she must have used a lot of magic…and that reminds me! He thought to himself, realization setting in, that idiotic kid, Ronald Weasley, is responsible now for two children being unconscious…the first one only indirectly, but the insults he threw at the mudblood were almost worthy of respect, if only the boy belonged to an non blood traitorous family… and the second one, cursing the boy who lived himself! With a member of a noble family as a witness!
"Why would they think I need to lower myself to illegal acts, when they hand me over the poison to kill them, all so nicely wrapped in such a pretty package?" he asked himself in a whisper.
He quickly contacted his lawyers, and flooed over to their office, after letting a house elf know. Lucius has a rather important group of lawyers in his payroll, they have an office only a block away from the Ministry, and they have helped him many times. They are very good at what they do, if you pay them enough, and it is thanks to them that Lucius never gets caught.
Everything he does is legal, barely at times, but well legal. Thanks to loopholes in the laws that his lawyers know about. And it was them that suggested he be kind to the muggleborn and her parents. It really helped his career, since his approval rate is at an all time high. As long as he speaks out in favor of the poor injured muggleborn, no one will question anything else he wants to do. Especially since it was thanks to the same person that now the boy-who-lived is unconscious as well. Well, thanks to Ronald Weasley, and thanks to the headmaster as well.
"I've got an update for you, Leon." Said Lucius as he strolled into his lawyer's office. "I'm all ears, Mr. Malfoy." Answered the tall, dark haired man, wearing a smart muggle suit, with an open robe. Calling someone as high class as Lucius Malfoy, Mister, was a way to denote closeness on a professional level, otherwise he'd be referred to as Lord, or simply Lucius, but he wasn't that close with the man.
"You're going to like this one very much." Said Lucius with a triumphant smirk before sitting on a comfy chair. His lawyer returned the smirk and summoned a house elf for snacks before he checked on the security charms on the office. It was all standard procedure, especially for high end clients like the Malfoy's, of course, most clients of this office were high end, but still… soon they were both comfortable, and Lucius started talking.
It was going to be a while before he finished. There were several things in play right now, and this new addition was going to do wonders with the rest of it.
"Enervate" intoned Percy in a clear voice. He had finally gotten back to his brother and laid him down in what he thought was his bed. Neville had sneaked past him with his eyes on the ground, he thought the boy had been doing, but soon forgot about thinking of him, since the boy is so shy.
Ron groaned as he woke up, and for some moments, he stared at the top of his canopy bed. What happened? He thought to himself, and then he groaned loudly, in annoyance and anger. "That bastard!" he whispered loudly, and he sat up. He saw his brother, Percy, standing there besides his bed with a worried expression on his face.
"Do you have any pain, Ron?" Percy asked him, and Ron frowned and his mouth twisted in a sneer, a cheap imitation of Draco's high class sneer. "Yeah, my pride hurts! But don't worry, I'll feel better soon."
Percy shook his head, "I don't want to know, Ron. Don't forget I'm a prefect now, at least if I don't know I don't have to punish you."
"Yeah, yeah…I haven't planned anything, yet, anyways." Answered Ron in a dismissive tone of voice, at least he sort of cares, he thought to himself. "What time is it?" he asked, looking up at his brother from the bed, where he was sitting with his legs crossed.
"It's 12:30…lunch started 30 minutes ago…" answered Percy, after a quick check of the time with his wand. Ron looked up, in shock, I'm missing lunch! He thought with a startle, and he scrambled up from the bed to the floor, almost running into his brother who was still standing there.
Percy shook his head, as if in defeat, "don't worry…lunch is until 1:30 on Sundays." He said, before patting Ron on the head and walking away.
Ron, though, still hurried to the Great Hall at a run. I can't plan revenge on an empty stomach…
When he got to the Great Hall, everyone was still eating, expect for the Headmaster, and Snape, who were both missing from their usual places at the teacher's table. Ron hurried to his friend's side, Dean and Seamus. If he wanted revenge, he needed to tell his friends what happened, so they would be able to help him, too. Of course, he never noticed the looks he was getting from the Slytherin table, otherwise he would have been really frightened for his life.
"Hey, guys, I'm gonna need your help." Said Ron after he filled his plate with all kinds of foods. Dean and Seamus turned to him, "why? What's up?" asked Dean. Ron growled, bits of food falling from his mouth back to his plate, "that brat, Potter, tricked me into cursing him! Just to get me in trouble! And Neville, that scaredy-cat, idiotic moron! Cursed me! I still can't believe the moron managed to hold his wand from the right end! I need to get revenge and you guys have to help me!"
Seamus and Dean exchanged looks, and then shrugged, "sure, why not." Said Dean, and Seamus agreed, "yeah, we got nothing to do but assignments."
"Look at him!" whispered Draco in a harsh voice, "sitting there, stuffing himself! He's not even been punished!"
Another student, a few seats away, and a few years older, turned to them. "Just leave this to the grown ups, besides, McGonagall's gonna be watching you very closely."
Daphne growled, "no need to coddle us, Baddock. We're not at fault here, and whatever we do or don't do will fall, not on our heads, but on hers and on Weasley's and Dumbledore's!" she looked over to Ron Weasley, and saw him laughing with his friends.
It made her blood boil, here he was laughing and eating, when Harry was laying unconscious in the Hospital Wing! Draco had reassured her that his father would be coming to get him, and take him somewhere safe. But what about Ron Weasley? Why was that little annoying bug, here with the rest of them! As if nothing had happened.
She turned to look at the Head Table, and saw that Dumbledore and Professor Snape were both missing, but McGonagall was there, and the other Heads, along with Quirrell who looked at her right in the eyes when she turned to him.
Suddenly, Daphne knew what she had to do, so she got up and started yelling, "Ronald Weasley cursed the Boy-Who-Lived!"
The Great Hall instantly went deathly quiet at her declaration, "Ronald Weasley cursed Harry Potter! And now he lies unconscious! And yet Weasley sits there! Eating and Laughing!" she yelled out, her voice carrying all over the Great Hall. Everyone silent, and looking at her, and Ron.
"The number of points for Gryffindor house hasn't changed since yesterday! Is this the Greatness of Gryffindor? To raise Cowards and show favoritism towards the undeserving!" she screamed out, her voice crazy and hoarse, filled with anger and grief, for Harry.
McGonagall cursed her luck and stood up, "shut up this instance, Ms Greengrass, before you spend the rest of the year in detention!" they had been trying to keep the incident quiet, Gryffindor was still barely second when it came to house points, and if she removed any more, they'd be third. Also, Dumbledore wanted to keep this newest incident under wraps, so as not to appear even worse in the eyes of the Students and parents.
But Daphne wasn't going to keep quiet, not when she knew she was in the right, "oh, you try to keep me quiet! And threaten me, with detention, well did you give Weasley detention, for cursing Harry Potter! And hoe about this being yet another occasion in which Weasley ends up hurting another student!"
Ron stood up angrily at that, "what another!" he yelled out, before McGonagall could say anything else, "That filthy idiot, Potter is the first! And I would do it again! He deserves it! He deserves everything he gets for turning into an evil dark wizard! He's a traitor to everything us deserving folk stand for!"
McGonagall felt like fainting, why does this have to happen on my watch? Albus is totally going to blame me! "Quiet! Quiet! The both of you! You are both a disgrace to the rest of the students! Sit down, now! Especially you Miss Greengrass! 30 points from Slytherin for causing such disruption!"
"Professor, how many points are you going to remove from Gryffindor house, then?" asked a male student from the far side of the Hall. McGonagall turned to the Hufflepuff table, and saw Cedric Diggory, on his feet, always looking so proper, with his uniform in perfect condition, and his hair gelled back.
"What?" asked McGonagall, almost confused at being interrupted in her tirade by a Hufflepuff. "How many points are you going to remove from Gryffindor? Also, how many detentions are you going to give Ron Weasley for cursing Harry Potter? If you want to punish Greengrass for disrupting lunch, then you must punish the person that gave a reason to disrupt lunch." He added, his voice polite, but loud and direct.
Ron growled, "Potter made me attack him! He provoked me! And my magic just reacted!" Draco finally decided he wasn't going to let Daphne take all the heat for the disruption, his honor as a Malfoy wouldn't allow it. "And where did this happen, exactly?" he asked loudly, and Ron turned around to look at him, "at the Gryffindor common room, of course!" he answered with a growl.
"And what was Harry doing at Gryffindor house in the first place?" Draco added, his eyebrow rising, as if in challenge. And then, of course, Ron made another mistake… he spoke. McGonagall tried to stop him, but Ron's idiocy worked faster, "Harry's a Gryffindor now! Of course, and the Headmaster switched him there! We can't have the Boy-Who-Lived in the Dark Wizards House, now can we!" he said, loudly and clearly, everyone still staring in astonishment at what was going on, lunch forgotten.
Cedric frowned, "only the sorting hat can choose a house for the students." He said, his voice loud, in the silent Great Hall. The silence was almost unnerving, considering how many people was there. "The headmaster can't choose, there's a law against that. The Headmaster can't interfere…neither can parents….guardians….or magical guardians…" he continued, his voice thoughtful as he remembered what he had read, but still reverberating all through the room.
"Enough of this!" yelled McGonagall suddenly, "lunch is over! Everyone go back to your common rooms!" she continued speaking, and all the plates disappeared. "Mr. Weasley, stay behind, please."
Ron groaned, both at the food being gone, and having to stay behind. Bloody bastards! The whole lot of 'em! Now I gotta get revenge on that pansy boy from Hufflepuff, too.
Everyone started to get up and walking away, Neville, who had kept eating, and trying ti avoid getting attention while the whole thing was happening, licked his lips, nerves shining through his gaze as he stared at the table. He should say something, he knew it, it was inevitable, since he was there when the whole thing happened, and he knew Ron was guilty of everything the Slytherins were accusing him of.
But now he had a new dilemma, because it didn't seem like Professor McGonagall was all that inclined to punish Ron, so maybe telling her his version of what happened wouldn't really make that much of a difference in the first place. He had to tell someone else, but then…who would care? The only one he could think of was Professor Snape, and the rest of the Slytherins but they already knew that he was there, since it had been him that went to get them, and had personally told Professor Snape everything he knew already.
That's it! I'll just let Malfoy know that he can call on me to be a Witness, or provide my memories of what happened if he needs it. He nodded to himself, and got up from the table, and looked around. Everyone was up and slowly walking away, talking loudly about everything and anything, mostly what had happened. It didn't seem like most people knew he had been involved in any way, since he wasn't getting any stares.
He found Malfoy and his group soon enough, since they were the closest to the doors, probably in a hurry to go and see Harry. Neville, then, quickened his steps and tried to do what he had to do fast, before the nerves got the best of him.
He followed them through the hallways for a bit, not sure he wanted to be seen by the other Gryffindors when he actually offered his help to the Slytherins, of all people.
"Yes?' said a young voice, and Neville was startled by it. He hadn't realized he had been following them for quite a while. "Uhm…" he hesitated, and looked around, they were on a Hallway that obviously led to the Slytherin dorms, so no one else was around but them. "I… I wanted to say…" he hesitated again, and stared at them all; Draco Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, and Blaise Zabini, all of them standing next to each other, staring at him with their arms at ease… easy access to their wands were they to need it, but they outnumbered him, so; yep, Neville Longbottom was officially dumber than usual.
"I wanted to offer my… assistance, should you need it….with the Ron-Harry incident…uhm, you know… as a witness…" he finally explained, and Draco scoffed, almost in disbelief.
Pansy frowned, "really? Why?" she asked, and Neville took a deep breath, "well… I don't like Ron… and like I said… I was there when the whole thing went down… and Ron was at fault completely… and I kind of… reacted when he cursed Harry, and I cursed him back… so, he'll probably be feeling vengeful… I figure… you know… if he's gonna hate me, I might as well go all the way, and offer my help as a witness, should it come to that… besides…uhm… My parents were…. Classmates…. And friends… with Harry's parents, too… so…" Neville trailed off and looked away.
Draco was impressed, really, he'd always thought of Neville Longbottom as a spineless fool… turns out he was wrong. The boy is probably just not used to interacting much with others, since he grew up with only his grandmother, and everyone knew Madam Longbottom was a bit antisocial, especially after the event, as his mother refers to it.
"We'll keep your offer in mind, Longbottom. Thanks, you're… alright, I guess." Said Draco, and he extended his hand towards the other boy with only a moment of hesitation. Neville paused, almost uncertain, but he took Draco's hand and shook it slowly, knowing it would have been bad relations not to take it, and also knowing it was an important moment for both families.
Neville wasn't sure how this would play out in the future, and how it would affect relations between the Malfoy family, and the Longbottom family, maybe it wouldn't change anything, maybe it would help… maybe it would make things worse, especially when his Gran finds out. But Neville is doing this more for Harry Potter's benefit than anything else, of course, it also helps that by doing this he'll be providing evidence against Ron Weasley, and it might also lead to questions on why Harry Potter was in Gryffindor house in the first place.
He's not sure why he even cares, maybe because for those few short moments that he was in the company of Harry Potter, the boy showed that he's smart, and he didn't treat Neville like an idiot, either. Finding out another version of what happened to his parents was also very eye opening for him. His Gran had always made it seem like his parents were pointless victims of mad people. Merely tortured for not agreeing to become dark wizards, and death eaters… but here we have the boy-who-lived himself, showing him that just maybe, everything that happened in the war wasn't as senseless as what his Gran had always made it out to be.
That was important to him, not because he wanted to justify anyone's actions, but it certainly made it easier to know that just maybe, Bellatrix wasn't simply a mad woman, but a woman who had been driven mad by people who are supposed to be light wizards. It certainly put things in perspective for him, and also, of course, watching Ron Weasley, who's supposed to be from a light aligned family, cursing Harry Potter helped reinforce the idea that not everything is white and black, good or evil.
"Right… well…I have… assignments to finish…" he said lamely, and after giving them all a half smile, he turned around and walked off really fast. He barely managed to keep from running away, the knowledge that all Slytherin's are supposed to be evil, still too deeply ingrained in him. It would take more than a couple of hours to come to terms with it.
Daphne scoffed, and laughed, as soon as Neville was out of sight, "well, that was interesting." She commented, and Blaise nodded in agreement, "I'll say… I wonder what Harry said to him to cause such a reaction?" he asked, and Draco shrugged, "as long as it gives us an ally within Gryffindor, it's all good."
Pansy chuckled, "I wonder what his dear, uptight, grandmother will say when she finds out?"
-End chapter-
Chiyoku says: I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you'll review, too. But even if you don't, thanks for reading, and please stay tuned for next chapter! PS: was the ending for this chapter way too abrupt? I hope not…I just got to the point where I was like…ok…what else can I possibly write? Then I figured, this is as good a place as any to finish it off for now, so…
I'm just happy I made my word goal XD.
Oh, and uhm, review, thanks!
