Chapter 14 somebody's in trouble!!
Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office
Albus (too many middle names) Dumbledore looked up in surprise as the fire flared three times in quick succession, a person being discharged with each flare.
He raised an eyebrow at the three women standing in his office, looking absolutely furious, but not at each other.
"Minerva, Molly…this is an unexpected surprise," Augusta greeted levelly, calling on years of self-control to keep from attacking the sole man in the room.
"Augusta, Molly…I certainly wasn't expecting anyone coming to see the Headmaster today," Minerva said stiffly, keeping one eye set on Dumbledore.
"Minerva, Augusta…I trust you are doing well?" Molly asked, narrowing her eyes at Dumbledore in warning.
"As well as can be, with this …new information that has been dispensed." Augusta said.
Minerva and Molly's eyes narrowed before they nodded.
"Well, now, how should we go about this? All at once, or one at a time?" Molly asked, idly twirling her wand.
"Ladies?" Dumbledore asked, a bit bemused at the whole situation.
He blinked as he was suddenly the target for three extremely venomous glares.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, quite baffled at their looks.
The three women traded glances before Molly and Minerva made a half-bow, gesturing Augusta Longbottom forward while moving to the back of the room.
"What exactly, where you thinking, Dumbledore?"
"I'm not quite sure what you mean, Augusta."
"Potter."
"What of him?"
Frustration was practically pouring off of the woman in front of him. "How, in Circe's name, could you leave that boy with those…those…people! They're COMMONERS, and even worse, muggles with absolutely no tolerance for magic!"
"I don't have the faintest idea what you are talking about, Augusta. The Dursleys love Harry, very much, and would never do anything to harm him."
All three women snorted at that and Molly marched forward, a furious look on her face. "Love? LOVE? Those…people wouldn't know how to love Harry if they were given a manual on it, Albus! That boy is too small for his age, always has been, and he jumps at any chance to stay away from the Dursley's, and you think they love each other?" she snarled, not believing just how idiotic/ignorant the man in front of her was.
"I'm sure that you are mistaken, Molly, the -"
"MISTAKEN? MISTAKEN?! THEY MADE HIM LIVE IN THE CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS UNTIL HE RECEIVED HIS HOGWARTS LETTER! THEY'VE SPOILED THEIR OWN SON ROTTEN WHILE USING AND ABUSING HARRY! THE MALFOY'S TREAT THEIR HOUSE-ELVES BETTER THAN THE DURSLEY'S TREAT HARRY! HELL, THE MALFOY'S WOULD HAVE TAKEN BETTER CARE OF HIM!" Molly shrieked in outrage.
Dumbledore made to open his mouth, "DON'T YOU DARE, DUMBLEDORE! You are going to sit there, and you are going to listen to what we have to say, and you are going to fix it, are we understood? No, don't answer that yet."
"I have had it with this…this…nonsense of yours, Albus. I told you that leaving him with them would be a bad idea, but as usual, you ignored me. Now this has happened. I love that boy like my own grandson, and I refuse to allow these…tests to continue. I am going to make a copy of my memories and send it to the Board of Governors, and let them see just how you have been treating that boy since he came here. I absolutely will not stand for this anymore.
Seeing him when he first came here was bad, Albus, he looked like he shouldn't even be here yet, he was so small, and what you put him through that year and every subsequent year is going to stop. I am sick and tired of you hindering my attempts to help that boy. It stops now. The Dursley's are obviously doing something wrong, as every year when he comes back, he is skinnier and paler than when he left."
Molly's eyes narrowed at him as she started in again. "And what, exactly, have you accomplished by having him there all summer? Those wards can be recharged in hours, he doesn't need to be there all summer, in fact, it hurts him to be there, and causes him to trust you less with every time that you send him back there."
"What I am curious about si why he's even living there in the first place, what with his father's heritage…"
"Albus thought it best for him to live with his mother's sister, seeing as how his mother had sacrificed herself to protect Harry that he live there."
"And did no one think to check and see if there was an actual blood relation between young Mr. Potter and this…Evans woman?"
Total silence reigned in the office.