Chapter 12: Confessions for a Greater Good

Draco exited Grimmauld Place and quickly made his way down to the side alley so that he could apparate back to Malfoy Manor, a place that he had made a great show of abandoning for his new penniless existence as a do-gooder. He remembered the day that he had arrived with a few bags at the Burrow of all places. The manor, of course, had needed to be abandoned as it had already been leaked to Order intelligence that the Dark Lord had set up operations there and while in truth Draco would have never dreamed of making his Lord move from their family home, he also had the set excuse that he was incapable of such a task. In the end, the fact that Draco had walked away from both his parents and his former status and wealth had only added to his credibility with the Order.

He honestly hadn't planned on the rain that had soaked him to the skin when he stood on the doorstep of the dilapidated house the Weasleys called home, but he felt that it was a perfect touch to the pitiful picture that he had been struggling so hard to project. Ginny had been endlessly sympathetic, most of the male Weasleys had been unusually expressionless, aside from Ron, but Draco had always known that his yearmate would never believe his abrupt defection easily. However, that day he had won over the Weasley matriarch irrevocably, and had learned that where Molly Weasley led, the rest of her family eventually followed. For a boy that had been taught from a young age to project nothing but confidence and poise he was quite impressed with his own performance. But most importantly, it had quite possibly been the best in a long line of subtle, and not so subtle, ways in which Draco had drawn himself increasingly into the inner circle of the Order.

Making sure that he had been sympathetic to the right people. Ensuring that he was seen as invaluable to others. It had not been easy, not as easy as he had first thought when he had run to 'warn' Snape about Potter exposing him as a spy and sobbed that he did not want to follow in his father's footsteps. Draco had never hidden his thoughts and feelings about the Pureblood agenda from the world. As early as First Year he had taken great pride in taking his rightful place in the social hierarchy and the Order was filled with the very people that he had maligned in the past. But Gryffindors were nothing if not emotional and they delighted in redemption and forgiveness. It had taken time and cunning and a skill that he was sure that no one but himself had to accomplish, but he had done it. They trusted him and he had used that trust to direct them away from the people that he was most concerned about.

Draco had made his sacrifices and soon it would be coming to an end. The Dark Lord had been rising silently and systematically for years and the Ministry and Order were both too blind to even see it. Draco delighted in seeing their ridiculous celebrations, knowing that most were all small steps to his master's success. The Dark Lord was nearing his final stages and when he at long last had complete domination, it would be Draco that he rewarded for his loyalty.

Draco swept into the foyer, his stride becoming more graceful, his posture straightening. He had picked up some truly horrendous habits among the Gryffindor band of misfits that he had been forced into spending all of his time with. The Weasleys were exceedingly casual in everything that they did, whether it was dinner, Order meetings or even their comings and goings they were loud and friendly, they were constantly teasing and sniping at one another and when the odd explosion or near disaster erupted in a separate room there was a puzzling lack of reaction from the rest of them. Draco had been near terrified the first time he had experienced the house shaking around them, certain the Twin Terrors were going to kill them all. He would never admit to anyone that he had grown to like it.

"Draco," the Dark Lord greeted coolly from the throne-like chair that he had built into what had once been the drawing room but was now used for more private audiences between the Death Eaters and their beloved master, "I trust that you have important information to relay to me if you are risking coming at this time."

Draco fell to his knees in front of the man, "Yes, my Lord. The Order is currently responding to the attack and I knew that between the battle and the recovery I would have a few hours. They believe that I am watching Potter."

There was silence that always made Draco tense. It was always hardest to gauge the Dark Lord's mood when he was quiet. "And Potter believes...?"

"He has seen me at the prison, my Lord, he is aware of my true loyalties but there is no one that will believe him. He tried to question me even today and the Order defended me vehemently. Your plans are safemaster." Draco struggled not to sound smug, he had been punished for his 'arrogance' in the past when speaking with his master and had learned that no matter what he had accomplished it was always best to cite everything in terms of what the Dark Lord had done or how it benefited him. Unless, of course, he was speaking of mistake or a failure, those were never the Dark Lord's fault. Another lesson that he had learned painfully. He had not been able to leave his bed for two days after that particular lesson.

"And Severus?" the man hissed and Draco shivered as a coldness trickled down his spine, hatred rolling off the man in waves. Severus Snape had betrayed the Dark Lord and lived to tell the tale, something that no other man could claim. The Death Eaters all knew that the man's defection had been used for a greater purpose but they also knew that since he had been spared he had been put to the top of the Kill List...and yet had still managed to survive.

"He's still not completely trusted by most of them after his information about the attack by the Death Eaters led to the death of those muggles and two Aurors. It's still hurting his credibility. He led them into a trap, just as you planned and now none of them are trusting his information."

"But you have failed in your task to regain his trust?" the Dark Lord pressed and Draco swallowed convulsively, terrified of the pain that was sure to come.

"Yes sir...I failed you but I have ensured that Snape's position in the Order is irrelevant. I've positioned myself well, my Lord. I am now among the most trusted and those that question me are seen as traitors themselves."

There was another beat of silence before the Dark Lord seemed to decide to switch topics. "Severus' other little group is being taken care of and he finds himself alone and isolated. His end is near but he will suffer before I will allow him to die. Has Potter been cooperating with them or has he chosen to finally acknowledge that his so-called friends care nothing for him?"

"Potter...is angry with them. He doesn't trust them and he's been fighting with the werewolf in particular, but he...did tell them of our plans to break out the prisoners in Azkaban."

The Dark Lord gave a tight nod, looking as though this was expected, but still remained pensive. Draco desperately wanted to tell his master the true reason why Potter had been furloughed from the prison but Dumbledore's spells were impenetrable. He could not speak of the Horcruxes or even their locations. He had instead tried to give his master some vague clues, explaining that Potter was being released to help with sensitive material that only he was able to do. That his blood was important, hoping the man would make the connection.

"Have they revealed their true goal to him yet?"

"No my Lord, though I suspect that they will do it after this latest attack. They only have a week with Potter and if this mission is successful...there is a chance they might ask his help with one of the others..." hoping the man again made the connection between multiple Horcruxes.

"Then I suppose it's time that we accelerated our time table."

HPHPHP

Albus Dumbledore let out a weary sigh as the last of the Death Eaters disapparated or found other means of escape; the battle was, at long last, drawing to a close but the devastation was clear. The attack had been better organized than past events and the fighting style was…scarily targeted to inflict the most amount of damage on the surrounding Aurors as possible. Albus could see that at least part of Harry's information was already proving correct- the Death Eaters were learning the playbook of the Auror Training Regime and counter-acting it point by point. However, there had been no massive breakout for several years and the only prisoners involved in the program were those that were sentenced to life…so where were the Death Eaters getting their information?

Reports were still coming in but the Order had taken a large hit, the largest they had seen since the First War in fact. Kingsley Shacklebolt was dead. So were Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Monroe Carter, and Jefferson Anderson. Alastor was bleeding heavily but was at least still standing. Fred Weasley had looked to be injured but thankfully it had not looked to be serious. Charlie, however, had been taken to St. Mungo's, unconscious but stable. His partner Alex Gwynn had been unhurt but seemed to be experiencing signs of shock. Albus thought it rather tragic that not many of the young people were - to him it only reinforced how adapted they had all become to violence.

As Albus tried to simultaneously gather information and organize an effective recovery system for the victims of the attack, he allowed himself to once again question the direction the war had taken. It had progressed differently than he had anticipated. Voldemort seemed…unsure of his attack plan. Despite having a year of almost undisturbed planning and preparing due to Fudge's refusal to believe that he had returned, the Dark Lord had not seemed anxious to jump into a head first competition with the Ministry of Magic. Instead he had proceeded with almost extreme caution, seemingly in no rush to get to his ultimate goal but moving with a precision and unpredictability that made Albus truly miss having a well-placed and skilled spy in the man's Inner Circle.

Part of that caution, Dumbledore knew, was courtesy of Ivan Tyson. The man had risen to power at precisely the right time. He was both charismatic and decisive. Bold and yet not reckless. He had come into office brimming with confidence but what was more, he had both the ideas and the skill to back up that confidence. Albus was more than wary of the man as he had lived long enough to know that decisions that someone like Tyson made were not merely out of the goodness of his heart. He had known Ivan as a student and knew of his insecurities, the deep seated ambition that had driven him towards success. There were times, few but critical, when Albus knew that he and Tom Riddle had very similar approaches to things and he knew that the self-styled Dark Lord was positioning himself in such a way that the regime would crack from the inside out.

Albus had been working tirelessly...and part of him was terrified that it was in fact fruitlessly...to prevent these plans from happening while still being able to maintain a cordial relationship with the current administration. He had learned a valuable lesson after the tension that he had been created with Fudge. He had felt that by working alongside the Ministry it would enable both organizations to be stronger and work efficiently. He had wanted to help guide the Ministry in the right direction and end the war as peacefully as possible. He had a feeling that he had failed. He could only hope that his true plan, the only plan that could truly succeed, paid off. He had certainly paid for it with his very soul but of course that was nothing to the price Harry had paid.

"We only nabbed five Death Eaters," Alastor informed him, coming up to his side and panting heavily from his injuries. "I don't like it…this was vastly different than any attack that we've seen before. They knew exactly where to attack, how to escape, which spells to use- how did they get so organized so quickly?"

"I had similar thoughts myself. It appears that Harry's information is correct, the Death Eaters are planning on using our techniques against us and from what we witnessed today they were successful."

"Potter was talking about a large scale breakout for that purpose. The way they were fighting I doubt they need to bother! It looks like they already got that information from somewhere," Alastor pointed out.

"We both know that the lines of communication out of Azkaban have not been secure for some time. We have both pushed for the Ministry to make changes in regards to their visiting rooms but with so many things to change and update this was something that fell through the cracks. But it appears that Tom needed to accelerate his plans. He is not be happy that Harry is out of prison and with us."

Alastor scowled, his scarred face turning rather frightening, "You believed him then? You think he would give us accurate intel against his former master?"

"You yourself pointed out to us all that Death Eaters rarely feel loyalty to anyone but themselves. Harry has been in Azkaban for nearly four years, and in all that time what help has he received? It would certainly seem that the pragmatic decision would be to help the side that is currently helping him, don't you think?" Albus asked shrewdly. For the first time in quite a while, Albus was unsure who he was trying to convince. Was he merely trying to use the Ex-Auror's trademark paranoia against him so that he could give Harry a decent excuse for turning on the man? Or was he trying to convince himself as well?

There was, after all, the distinct possibility that Harry was doing nothing more than genuinely attempting to help them. There was much more to Harry than a simple case of a young man switching sides. More complicated than anyone in the Order could possibly know or understand.

There was a beat before Alastor spoke again, it was a sympathetic tone that Albus had only heard a handful of times over the years but always when he had most needed to hear it. "Albus…I know that you used to care for the boy, and hell, knowing you, part of you still does. Merlin knows...even I can admit that the kid got a raw deal in his life. Parents murdered, abused by those monsters that called themselves relatives, and then our world could never make up its damn mind if they wanted to hold him up on pedestal or knock him into the ground. You know me, I've never been one to sympathize with a criminal but if anyone had a reason to snap and flip sides, it was probably Potter. But that doesn't change the fact that he made his choices and we made ours. I've told you before- you can't save everyone in this world."

Albus nodded his understanding, not for the first time forcing himself to view the situation objectively, that was what he had done that day when he had first learned of the horrors done at Privet Drive. He had forced himself to look at the larger picture, to look at all of his options and see that there had been only one choice to make. Once again Albus had needed to look at what was good for the war, the people of the Wizarding World, not one unfortunate boy who fate had seemingly cursed to carry too many burdens. That did not mean that Albus had been happy with the decisions that he had made. Nor that he hadn't second guessed himself everyday thereafter.

"As you say, Harry had more reason than anyone for acting as he did that day but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't take what he has to say to us now seriously."

Alastor continued, "You know that I don't trust anything a Death Eater has to say, but if Potter's willing to squeal on his former friends than we should weigh what he's saying rather than dismissing it out of hand. Starting with the fact that we need to have our Aurors learn to go a bit off script here or we're going to be in trouble."

"Yes, I agree. The revelations made about this Auror Training Program are quite disturbing to say the least. Not even taking into consideration the sheer cruelty that our Ministry has been using and the complete secrecy under which they have made at least one major decision, it was remarkably foolish to allow the enemy to see our fighting strategies."

Alastor nodded before becoming distracted by a young Auror that was incorrectly trying to heal one of the wounded and frustrating the older man to a point where he felt that he needed to step in. He hobbled away to assist, too far for any but one with a magical eye to notice anything amiss, and Dumbledore looked at the man fondly as he realized that the Ex-Auror had once again been keeping track of all movements in the room while holding a private conversation.

Albus sighed to himself, once more forcing himself to think through all of his decisions, convincing himself that he was making the right choices and trying to escape the constricting feeling of guilt that had wound its way around his chest. Nearly four years ago Albus had made the decision not to act in any way to defend Harry. He had made the decision to allow events to take their course and had remained until that day silent on the subject no matter how many Order members had asked him his feelings on it or how many times it had come up in Order meetings. He knew that most took his silence as agreement and he supposed for all intents and purposes it was. He had agreed that it was too dangerous for Harry Potter to remain free and to act independently. He had agreed that it had been the body of Harry Potter that had tortured his relatives and killed an innocent woman. However, he had never once believed Harry to be responsible for those crimes.

There were many things about Harry that he had never told the Order. Like the fact that he was almost completely certain that Harry was an accidental Horcrux. Or that he believed that it was the influence of that dark piece of soul- lodged into a boy that had suffered more than anyone's fair share of hardship and pain- that had caused the boy to stray down such a dark path himself.

There were two things that Dumbledore believed in quite certain of concerning the events of that fateful day at Privet Drive. The first being that, unfortunate though it might be- Harry was guilty. There was no other explanation for the events as they had played out. The wards would not have allowed for another person to get into the house. There had been no signs of Polyjuice. Harry's wand had been used. Albus was a logical man and would not allow himself to disregard facts when they were clear.

However, the second certainty was that the poor boy had not been acting completely of his own free will. Albus couldn't be sure whether Harry had been fully possessed as he on that night at the Department of Mysteries when he had thought that it would be a one-time occurrence. Or if after being exposed to such powerful dark magic for so long, when Harry's uncle had beaten him so viciously, the anger and perhaps even hatred that he had felt had caused the boy to snap, perhaps only for a moment but long enough for his own soul to become tainted. Damaged. Thus enabling that dormant soul fragment from Voldemort to become active, to take control of a soul that that had been so badly abused and miserable that it had been unable to prevent being enslaved by the soul of the man that cursed its Host to being with. Voldemort was responsible for these crimes but that did not change the result and as much as it pained him to say it- Harry's actions could not be trusted.

Ideally, Albus would have liked to have had Harry monitored and cared for under better conditions. St. Mungo's, for example, or even a safehouse guarded by an Order member. Constantly supervised but not punished for actions he could not fully control. Perhaps with proper care and love the boy could have learned to establish complete dominance and control over the soul fragment. He would have had the support of his friends to help. If emotional support or even therapy failed, potions could have kept him slightly sedated but would not have destroyed his quality of life. There could have even been a chance of home schooling so that he could still eventually graduate...if it was even deemed safe enough for the boy to have a wand.

The safe house he had ruled out immediately because Dumbledore wasn't sure if the Order would have been able to hold the young wizard indefinitely. Harry was very powerful. More powerful than most gave him credit for. The lad had overpowered the possessed body of Quirrell and fought Voldemort himself at the tender age of eleven. While it had been Lily's sacrifice that had fueled that magic, it had been Harry's raw power and determination that had made such a victory possible. He had killed a basilisk at the age of 12, taken on a hundred Dementors at the age of 13 and dueled a newly-restored Voldemort at 14. Harry had the potential to be among one of the most powerful wizards in the world - a wonderful asset when the boy (or man, now) was in his right mind but exorbitantly dangerous when he wasn't. If they failed in their attempt to heal Harry, he could have easily lashed out and hurt or even killed any one of them.

As for the St. Mungo's option…there was no way of explaining that Harry wasn't in control of his actions without revealing the knowledge of Horcruxes and that was one piece of information that Albus knew he could never let Tom know. He had once told Harry that his greatest mistake was that he had once allowed his feelings for Harry to overshadow what was best for the rest of the world. It was a mistake that he couldn't afford to make again. Harry didn't deserve Azkaban (few people did, in Albus' mind, it was truly a terrible place) but he couldn't have Harry go free without letting the rest of the world know that he had a way of defeating Voldemort for good.

Harry had been a casualty of war.

"Albus," Bill Weasley said, interrupting Albus' train of thoughts, "We have some upsetting news. One of the Death Eaters that we captured, we questioned him under Veritaserum while he was still disoriented and he said something about a plan for Voldemort to move something from a cave. I think the Death Eaters know about our plan to go after the Horcrux."

"How the bloody hell could they find out something like that?" Alastor asked panting once more after returning from having berated the young Auror for his mistake.

Severus came forward and frowned, "I believe I've made my suspicions clear on that front."

"Malfoy…" Alastor growled, he had never trusted the boy would turn from his family.

Severus nodded, having warned them against the boy in the past, but in recent years it had appeared to most that the former spy was jealous of his replacement more than anything else. His own intelligence was often spotty and unreliable and several members had pointed out that Severus must feel inadequate in his position.

For Albus, they were more than suspicions, but once again had chosen to keep his own counsel on the subject. Always best to keep spies and enemies as close as possible. The boy was a skilled liar, he was forced to admit, but not perfect. Not as good as Severus had once been and continued to be. Severus' irregular information was the best they could find in anyone not directly tied into the Death Eaters and Albus often marveled at his potions master's ability to ferret out what he needed from people. The timing of the boy's defection had been too convenient. His overtures too rushed at times. But it was useful to Albus for Tom to get certain information at certain times.

With the charms on the Order, Draco would be unable to pass him anything crucial and while he was not surprised that Draco had managed to get a hint of their hunt for Horcruxes across to his Lord, he had also known Tom well enough to know that he would not tip his hand until he had seen Albus'. Tom was incurably curious and he would know that the Order would have had to jump through hoops to get Harry released. Albus had been banking on Tom waiting until they acquired custody of the boy to make a move and then be able to follow his scrambled moves back to the hiding places of the hidden objects. With Tom's arrogance and paranoia, if they played things correctly, the end of the war could be closer than anyone realized.

"We don't know that he's responsible for leaking information," Arthur was pointing out fairly, grimacing in pain at the gash that had still not healed properly on his left leg as the Order seemed to debate once more their feelings on the Malfoy heir.

"And we don't know that we can trust him either," Remus pointed out. The Order had mostly assembled at this point, some slightly worse for wear but Albus was grateful that for once there had been a major battle with no fatalities on their side.

There was the usual murmur of disagreement and argument that usually surrounded any of their debates and Albus allowed all of them to speak for a moment, silently balancing what each of them was saying and trying to gauge who was the most objective.

Ginny Weasley was hotly defending Draco; the two of them had become quite close over last two years now and Albus was not surprised that she would defend the person that she loved.

Conversely, Remus was condemning both sides. The poor man had lost a lot in his life and it had made it almost impossible for him to trust. While he respected the reasons for the man's caution, he knew that he was being swayed just as much by emotion as Ginny.

"Look, does it really matter right now how this information got out?" Hermione asked. "Maybe we have a spy, maybe Voldemort is just being careful and it's simply an odd coincidence but the point is, we got Harry out of Azkaban for a reason and I think that we need to act now before it's too late. I don't think we have a lot of time to waste."

There was a cheer of agreement and a few people were even clapping their hands. Albus nodded, "I think Miss Granger is quite right. It's essential for us to get this Horcrux and whether we want to admit it or not, Harry's help is needed in that venture."

"But for him to help us, we have to give him back his wand," Remus pointed out. "Are we absolutely positive that we want to do that?"

"Potter is a powerful wizard, but he's four years out of practice with OWL level skills. He's weakened from Azkaban and he's outnumbered. I know it's a mistake to underestimate a potential enemy, but I think we also have to realistic," Tonks pointed out. Albus nodded his agreement. Harry was powerful, but not unbeatable.

"Er...I hate to be the bearer of bad news but how do we even know that he'll help us? He gave information, but that's a lot different than going into a cave designed by You-Know-Who and actively betraying his master," Neville pointed out.

"The boy is after saving his own skin. We'll tell him he'll have a shot at parole," Alastor pointed out.

"We don't really have that authority," Arthur pointed out with a frown.

"He doesn't know that," Alastor countered with a smirk.

"He might want to help us anyway," Fred argued with a bit of glare in old Auror's direction.

"Or he might try and sell us out to protect his master. There's no telling what a wizard will do once they go dark," Remus answered gravely.

"He didn't lie to us about the Death Eaters using our own fighting techniques against us, I don't think he was lying about the rest of it either," Hermione insisted.

"Oh don't be so naïve Hermione! You really think that Harry gives a damn about any of us?" Neville burst out in uncharacteristic scorn.

"I think Harry cares about a lot more than you're giving him credit for," Ron pointed out quietly.

"Enough," Albus finally said, his voice not raised but firm and the assembled crowd fell silent. "We cannot know what Harry will do but perhaps the time has come to give him a bit of our faith. It's surprising what belief in a person can inspire them to become. Harry turned away from us partly, I believe, because he felt that we never helped him when he needed it. I was the one that placed him with the Dursleys-"

"You didn't know," Remus began.

"But I should have," Albus interrupted firmly, "I know what a life of hardship and spite can do to a person. I know that a person requires love and understanding to grow - I deprived Harry of both. I sent him to an abusive household and then was surprised when he resented me for it. I am not excusing his behavior," Albus said raising his hand mildly as several objections were about to be raised, "But I do understand it. Harry has made many mistakes, but that should not erase the fact that he has done several commendable things in his life as well. Things that we have tended to overlook these past few years. Harry has always had a great capacity for goodness - I suggest that we allow that quality a chance to reassert its self rather than stifle it."

There was slight murmur of agreement, unenthusiastic but present. Albus could only hope that he was not allowing his own guilt to cloud his judgement. He was not lying when he had said that he was to blame for sending Harry to the Dursleys. Harry had once overcome possession and darkness with his ability to love and yet Dumbledore had stifled that feeling by insisting the boy return to a home that he despised. He should have known better. He could have prevented the path that Harry had been steered down by a lifetime of large and small cruelties. He wasn't sure if he was suggesting kindness towards Harry because he thought it might actually steer back towards the right path, to enable him to keep control over himself or simply as a means to make up for the torture and pain that he had inflicted on the boy for so long. In the end, perhaps it didn't matter, as Dumbledore had always preached on the importance on kindness and he felt it was about time that he actually demonstrated it to a young man that deserved it - needed it - more than most.

HPHPHPHP

The Order, with the exception of Mad-eye and Daniel Myers who remained behind to help the remaining Aurors, arrived back at Grimmuald Place in its usual state of chaos and disorganization. The portrait of Wulburga Black was screaming and wailing and the Order members - still pumped with adrenaline from the recent battle were in no mood to cater to the woman's demands. There was a confusion of yelling, laughter, missed curses and bellowed expletives- which only led to a combination of more riotous laughter and hysterical screaming from the portrait.

At some point in the melee of madness that had spontaneously occurred, Albus noticed that Harry had come out into the foyer accompanied by young Augustus. Auggie had run over enthusiastically to greet his father who had insisted on returning in order to see his son before planning to go to the hospital to see his partner. Harry stood quietly at the edge of the action - taking in the chaos around him with a calm, thoughtful expression. Emotions in the corridor were running high. Grief was battling with the euphoria of surviving. People were alternately crying and laughing and Harry observed the action with a kind of longing that Albus could not quite identify.

"Mummy!" a high pitched voice squealed loudly over the din. The noise in the room was so great that the cry only attracted the attention of a few but sure enough Tonks was one of them. Her hair instantly changed to a bright bubble-gum pink and her mouth actually stretched wider to accommodate her broad grin. The small boy was at the very top of the large spiral staircase, where the banister rails overlooked the long drop down towards the foyer.

"Teddy!" Tonks called back at him, "Have you been a good boy? Mummy missed you."

Teddy nodded happily in answer to his mother's question and leaned his small body up against the railing - which suddenly gave way even against the boy's slight weight.

Time seemed to freeze. While the noise of the room had practically buried Teddy's happy call in the din, Tonks' horrified scream seemed to silence everything else.

In a room filled with trained fighters and skilled wizards, no one seemed to find the ability to move. Even Albus, who had faced much worse troubles, seemed helpless to do anything as he watched in petrified horror as the small body plummeted towards the earth.

"Get out of the way!" came a rough cry and several people were jostled about as Harry ran with a diving leap, barely making it time, but catching Teddy securely in his arms at the last possible second. The force of the fall knocked them both to the ground and judging from the noise that the impact made and the large grunt of air and pain, Harry had had the wind knocked out of him.

There was a stunned moment of silence as the Order looked at the pair on the ground. Harry was still struggling to get his breath back after taking the full weight of Teddy onto his chest. Teddy was looking down at his savior with a stunned glance - he didn't seem to know if he should be crying yet and was still gauging the situation before he fully decided to commit himself to such distress.

Tonks was trembling, her eyes still trained a few feet above the ground as though still seeing the vision of her beloved son just about to crash into the ground and still unsure why the impact had not occurred yet.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Remus cried out in terror as he ran towards the boys, his arms raised, appearing for a moment as though he might strike. His face was stark white, his eyes wide and filled with fear. The pain in his expression was evident. Remus had walked away from his wife and child to protect them, so the idea of the boy being hurt (or worse) due to nothing but a mere freak accident appeared to be beyond his comprehension.

Teddy blinked up at the harsh voice before promptly giving into his original instinct and bursting into tears. It was at this time that Harry seemed to regain control of himself, his face shifting into one of anger as he quickly climbed to his feet and roughly pulled Teddy behind him, facing off against the older man in a defensive stance.

"I'm warning you, Remus, if you hurt him, I will kill you," he spoke in low, guttural tone and there was nothing but bleak sincerity in his words. There was a sharp intake of breath around the room. Harry's face was set, his eyes hard and cold.

The werewolf was so taken aback by the implication that he had frozen for a moment, too surprised to react at first before anger flooded his features.

"I would never hurt him!" Remus shouted out, enraged at even the implication - especially considering the source.

"You already have," Harry said quietly. "You can do what you want to me, but I'm warning you now - if you hurt him, I will make you pay," his voice trembled ever so slightly.

"I think he's a hell of a lot better off with Remus than someone like you!" Ginny shouted out in anger.

"That's hardly helping things at the moment Gin," George muttered.

"I think it's a bit strange that the railing suddenly gives way the day Potter comes into the house, don't you?" Draco questioned suddenly from the doorway. His statement had been all the more unexpected because no one had seen him come into the room.

"You were the one that was supposed to be watching him, where were you all this time Malfoy?" Ron pointed out.

"I've been watching Potter the whole time…with the exception of having to go to the bathroom. It wasn't a long time, but…well Potter never needed much time to get himself into loads of trouble, did he?"

Harry's jaw clenched at this statement but he didn't bother correcting anything the other man said. Albus wondered what motivated the silence; was Draco being truthful and Harry had no defense or…the more likely version in his mind, did Harry just think that anything that he had to say would be dismissed out of hand.

Teddy was still crying and clinging desperately to the back of Harry's legs. The boy had clearly chosen his side in the standoff. A fact that had not escaped anyone in the room.

"Harry…" Hermione said gently. She had raised both of her hands and was approaching her former-friend as though she expected him to lash out at any moment. "Remus wouldn't hurt Teddy. He was just scared and he lashed out."

"He was scared! What about Teddy? Don't you think he was scared?" Harry asked with a definite edge to his voice. He turned slightly and pulled the boy into his arms. The toddler grasped both his small, cubby arms around Harry's neck, burrowing his tear-streaked face into his shoulder.

"Harry…it's alright," Hermione said uncertainly. "You don't have to protect Teddy from us, no one wants to hurt him."

Harry swallowed as his eyes darted nervously around the room. Hermione had caught what the rest of them had failed to fully understand. Harry was acting out of pure fear. He was in survival mode and had jumped to defend himself - and more importantly the boy - when he thought that they were in danger. Remus blinked in surprise, suddenly understanding where Harry's comment had come from.

Albus finally stepped forward with his own hands raised slightly in a placating gesture, "Harry, the railing was an accident and Remus yelled because he was upset and scared for Teddy - just as you were."

"He didn't have to scare him like that," he argued, licking his lips nervously as he continued to survey the room.

"Do you really think that any of us want to hurt a small boy, Harry? Tonks' son?" Albus questioned sadly.

Harry looked up at him slowly and Albus could see that his eyes were a pool of certainty and fear, "People are capable of anything…and none of you have seemed to care very much about how kids are treated in the past." The words cut Albus like a knife. The blood wards had seemed so important at the time but what if it had been that decision that had destroyed everything? What if it had been Albus that had given Tom his greatest weapon of all?

"Teddy is safe now, and that's thanks to you," Albus said gently.

"Thank you Harry," Tonks finally said, her voice faint. She seemed almost oblivious to everything that had just occurred. At the sound of her voice, Harry's face finally softened.

"Of course Tonks…I would never let anything bad happen to Teddy. Not if I could stop it, I mean," he added quietly.

"Harry's so cool," Auggie stated with definitive conviction. "He's the best - and super nice Tonks!"

Alex Gwynn, a newer member and one that had not known Harry apart from the stories he had heard looked startled that his son seemed well enough acquainted with the felony to have formed an opinion but for the moment did not seem to know what to say.

Harry seemed to have calmed down, his feet came slowly together so that he was no longer poised to either attack or run from a threat, and his eyes were no longer fierce and angry. "Er…sorry," he said, slightly abashed in Remus' direction. "I suppose I acted before I really thought about it. Bad habits you know."

There was a bit of an awkward silence. The tension just barely diffused.

"So not planning on doing anyone else in then?" Fred asked with a bit of wink. The matching smile slowly dissolved when Harry turned to him with cold eyes. "I wouldn't say that. I don't want to hurt anyone, but I wasn't bluffing - if anyone hurts Teddy, or Auggie for that matter, I will kill them."

This was met with a still silence. Auggie was still smiling up at his newfound hero, apparently unconcerned with what he had just said but Harry's former classmates were staring at him with emotions ranging from anger and betrayal to sadness and outright pity.

Harry had turned his attention to Teddy, his entire demeanor changing, he lowered his gaze to the boy's face, gently stroking the boy's head, and when he spoke his voice was gentle and soft. "It's alright now, mate. You were brave after falling down all that way. You know something?"

Teddy was shaking his head and still crying, he had become rather inconsolable at the sound of so many raised voices and such deep-seated tension. Harry bounced him about for a moment, calmly stroking his hair and telling him that it would be alright until he repeated his question. "Hey, guess what I think?"

"What?" Teddy asked childishly, rubbing tears from his face with balled up fists.

"You know how you said that you didn't think that you would like Quidditch because it was high up and you were worried that you were going to fall? Well not only do I think you don't have worry about that anymore but I think we found out that you would make the perfect Beater."

"Really?" the small boy asked wide-eyed at this sudden change in conversation.

"Oh absolutely, you're already a human bludger. You're right heavy, you know," Harry told him, rubbing his chest and giving an exaggerated grimace of pain.

Teddy giggled and in his extreme delight his appearance transformed to match the image of his latest hero. The small metamorphamagus now had wild black hair and an innocent face with bright green eyes.

Harry held Teddy out with his arms and when he swung him high over his head, the Azkaban inmate suddenly looked like the teenager that he actually was. It had been almost too easy to forget. Harry had been gone for so long and held himself with such restraint that he appeared much older. Now, for the first time since being out of Azkaban, he appeared young and happy.

He looked very much like James Potter.

Albus could see that he wasn't the only one that could see the sudden striking resemblance between Harry and his late father. It was true that his time in prison had had an impact on his development. Harry was shorter than his father had been, thinner from being malnourished, pale from never seeing the sun. However, when he smiled he still shared the small impish charisma that his father had always had.

Remus abruptly walked out of the room.

Albus was sure that he understood the younger man's problem. He had spent the last four years thinking about how Harry had betrayed them all. Certain that he was evil. Evil was an easy thing to hate; people that were misguided and angry were a bit harder to condemn, but Remus Lupin had spent too long placing Harry in the role of the enemy to see him as any kind of victim.

A/N: Thank you once again to everyone that reviewed. For those of you that have consistently read this and suddenly find a great improvement in the quality of grammar and writing and are wondering if in the past week I finally took the time to master the English language (which is in fact my first and only language so no excuses) the answer is no. Instead I found someone better than me to do that so a very, very big thank you to mylittlehazmat for her amazing help.

Hope this clears up how Dumbledore feels about everything. To be honest I'm not a big fan of the 'evil Dumbledore' idea. I don't see Dumbledore as a person that intentionally sets out to make Harry's life miserable because he is callous or because he wants power and recognition for himself. However, he often makes the fatal mistake of assuming that he is the only person with the answers and chooses to weigh the good of the many over the good of the few. In this he genuinely believes that the Horcrux in Harry's head is influencing his behavior but rather than do anything to help him his solution is really along the lines of 'Harry was always going to have die anyway...'