A/N: Hello everyone! Chapter 14 is finally here, but I've got two things to take care of before the chapter begins.
Firstly, it was brought to my attention by a lovely reviewer that I have yet to post a disclaimer for this story. It was definitely not my intention to leave one out, because as you all know, the amazing Harry Potter characters we all love so much belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself. (There's the disclaimer, Clodia! Thanks so much, copyright issues are the last thing I want. I hope you like the next chapter!)
Secondly, I want to dedicate this chapter to two amazingly loyal, lovely reviewers. Md (aka Kitkat) and Aerohead- you both are absolutely wonderful, thank you so much for all of your support! Your emails get me writing faster than anything else in the world, thank you so much! Please, please continue nagging me as much as you want, I really do appreciate it (and it works, as well)! I hope this next chapter was worth the wait.
Allright, that's it! I hope you all enjoy the chapter.
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'This isn't happening.' Harry thought frantically, feeling the panic rising up in his chest. 'He wouldn't… he would never say…No. This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening…' The mantra replayed itself over and over inside Harry's head. It couldn't possibly be true. It had to be fake. It was…some sort of set up. Yes, that was it. It had to be. It was a Death Eater, someone trying to hurt him. 'And it's working.' Harry thought bitterly. He was hurt. He hurt so much. A frosty numbness was seeping into every pore of his body; icy fingers were wrapping themselves around his heart and squeezing the life out of him, dragging him down into darkening coldness.
Harry couldn't breathe. He couldn't hear, couldn't see. His arm dropped down limply to his side and the paper slipped from his trembling fingers, floating softly to the floor. He looked up from the empty space the paper had left behind and glanced around him. He took a startled step backwards and his breathing became ragged as he saw the walls moving in around him, getting closer…closer. Harry's eyes snapped quickly around him, looking for an escape from his rapidly constricting world. But everywhere he looked, a wall was creeping towards him, closing him in…trapping him.
Harry jumped slightly as he felt fingers brush his arm, and he turned his head to find himself staring into Hermione's face. He saw her crying…saw her lips moving, forming words, but Harry couldn't hear them. He looked around in a daze and saw Ron moving towards him. It seemed to take his friend ages to cross the distance between them, and when Harry felt an arm wrap around his shoulders he looked up slowly into Ron's face. His lips were moving too…why couldn't he hear? Colors were blurring together, his world was becoming foggy, and suddenly a harsh gasping noise was coming from deep inside him, echoing between his ears and rattling throughout his head. Harry looked around him in confusion- what was that? Surely that wasn't his breathing… was he even breathing at all anymore? He couldn't tell. He shook his head violently and then swayed on his feet as a wave of dizziness washed over him.
He felt another arm quickly wrap itself around his waist, and he jerked away from it and out of reach. His eyes snapped back into focus and he turned, taking a few steps backwards away from his friends.
"Harry..." Hermione said shakily, her voice watery with tears.
Harry looked at her and opened his mouth to respond, but stopped and closed it again. Nothing he said could make this right. Nothing would make it better, and nothing would make the pain go away. That's what his life had become- endless, heart shattering pain.
Harry clamped his eyes shut and hung his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. He couldn't deal with this. He took yet another step backwards and felt his right foot collide with something solid. He looked down and saw his book bag lying on the floor. He stared at it as a comforting thought started to form in his head. He couldn't deal with this…so he wouldn't.
"We…we have class." Harry said in a scratchy voice.
Ron and Hermione shared an alarmed look, both thrown off by their friend's random statement.
"What?" Ron asked, bewildered. "Harry…"
Harry looked up and met Ron's eyes squarely. "We have class. Potions, actually."
Ron continued to stare at him in disbelief and Hermione took a small step towards him.
"Oh, Harry!" she said, still sniffling. "We don't have to go to class."
Harry raised his eyebrows at her and said, "Hermione, I'm surprised. Next time you want me and Ron to do our homework early, I'll remind you of that sentence."
She wasn't being fooled, though. "I know what you're trying to do, Harry," she said quietly.
Harry's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "I'm trying to go to Potions." His voice was dark, dropping in pitch and volume as his heart broken emotions started morphing into anger.
"You hate Potions," Hermione said. "We don't have to go. We… we have to talk about this."
"No," Harry said, his voice deathly quiet. His face was impassive, but his eyes glinted dangerously as his rage simmered up to the surface.
Hermione's eyes widened slightly as the air around him started to crackle slightly, but she opened her mouth to keep talking. She paused, however, when she felt Ron's hand dart out from his side and grasp hers in his own, squeezing slightly.
"Hermione…I wouldn't," he said warningly.
She looked at him for a moment before turning back to Harry.
"Harry, please, we--" but she was cut off by a loud BANG! that went ricocheting off the walls as the glasses on the Gryffindor Table suddenly exploded into thousands of pieces.
People all around the hall let out a startled screams at the sudden noise and Ron visibly jumped before staring in shock at the now demolished tableware. Their gazes were suddenly yanked back to Harry as he snatched his bag from the floor and started walking quickly but calmly out of the hall, face devoid of any emotion.
"I'll see you in class," he said over his shoulder before disappearing out of the Great Hall.
A shocked silence reigned in his wake before it was broken quietly by Professor Dumbledore.
"I believe you all have classes to attend. Please wait patiently for your teachers," he said softly, but a distinctive edge could be heard under his seemingly gentle tone.
The noise of hundreds of students scrambling out of the hall was slightly subdued and eventually the teachers were left, sitting in astonishment, behind the staff table.
Sirius was sitting rigidly in his chair, staring straight in front of him with wide eyes. He then took a deep, shaky breath and said, "Albus, I--"
"Be quiet, Sirius," he said lowly. He turned his attention to Snape. "Severus. You have Harry in your class next. Please keep an eye on him."
Snape nodded curtly and got up to leave, but Dumbledore spoke again. "And Severus… do not antagonize him. If I hear that you have, I will be most displeased."
Snape sneered for a moment before nodding again and stalking off to the dungeons.
"The rest of you, excluding Sirius and Remus, may go to class. Please keep an ear out for any rumors you might hear and come directly to me if you discover anything of interest," Dumbledore instructed.
The rest of the teachers murmured their agreement and headed off to their classes, leaving Dumbledore alone with Sirius and Remus. He turned to face them and surveyed them in eerie silence before inquiring, "There is no Defense class at this present moment, am I correct?"
Both men nodded, too ashamed to speak. Dumbledore inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement and then rose, saying, "Then you will both accompany me to my office."
He got up and quickly made his way through the hallways, Sirius and Remus trailing behind him. They both had their heads down, studying the floor, afraid to even look at each other.
When they reached the stone gargoyle Dumbledore spoke the password and climbed onto the staircase, Remus following closely behind him. Sirius hesitated for a moment but then stepped resignedly on after his friend. How had things gone so horribly wrong?
Finally they were all settled inside the circular office, Dumbledore behind his desk and Sirius and Remus in chairs across from him. As he sat glowering at them, neither man had the courage to speak.
The deadly silence was eventually broken by Dumbledore, who spoke in a quiet, stern voice.
"Hogwarts is a magical school," he said.
Both men, previously looking anywhere but at him, suddenly snapped their eyes onto his. Of course Hogwarts was a magical school! What was he talking about? Dumbledore, however, merely looked at them.
"Hogwarts is a magical school," he repeated. "She is unlike any other building in the world. She is alive, she has a spirit. She recognizes certain people; she teases, helps, and takes care of her students. If called upon… she would defend her students. She was built by magic, she is maintained by magic, but most of all she is a home for magic. Thousands of children have passed through these walls over many centuries. They discover magic for the first time here, they make mistakes here, they learn here. They cultivate and shape not only themselves, but their magical cores as well. Hogwarts was designed for all of this. She was designed to love and teach and nourish. She is very old and very powerful." He paused here, looking at his two former students sternly. They both looked back at him, not understanding why he was giving them a summary of Hogwarts: A History. When they continued to stare at him blankly, Dumbledore sighed and continued speaking, anger edging its way into his voice.
"Do you have any idea how much raw power it takes to display accidental magic inside of Hogwarts?" he asked.
Sirius and Remus blanched as they caught on to Dumbledore's implications.
"Hogwarts is powerful. She has had the greatest wizards in history working on her, building her. She is the most magical building in the entire world and she is designed specifically for growing children. Accidental magic should not occur, and has never occurred in the past! The amount of power Harry had to exert in order to actually have an effect inside the walls of Hogwarts is tremendous. It should not be possible at all, but Harry has proven time and time again that what is impossible for the rest of us is indeed possible for him."
Dumbledore sighed before continuing, looking into Sirius' eyes.
"Our magic, as you know, is tied to our emotions. Most of the glasses on the Gryffindor table were completely destroyed. In order for Harry to accomplish such a feat inside of Hogwarts…" he trailed off, and then spoke again in a quiet, regretful voice. "You hurt him terribly, Sirius."
Sirius looked at him with anguished eyes, his entire body trembling as he gripped the arms of the chair he was sitting in. "I... I didn't mean to, Albus, I--"
Dumbledore cut him off. "It doesn't matter if you meant to or not, Sirius. The fact of the matter is that you did. You did hurt him. And I honestly don't know if the damage is reparable this time."
Sirius closed his eyes, unable to speak. He heard Remus' voice beside him. "It wasn't all his idea, Albus. I helped him."
"No, Rem, it was my idea," Sirius said, not wanting his friend to get in trouble.
"But I let you. This is just as much my fault as it is yours," Remus said firmly.
Sirius opened his eyes and met Remus' gaze, staring at him intently. Remus was looking back at him, his eyes reflecting the pain and desperation he knew were in his own. Sirius suddenly felt an overwhelming rush of gratitude towards his old friend, and he reached out a hand to grasp Remus' arm tightly.
"Why did you let him, Remus?" Dumbledore asked, still barely constraining his anger.
"Because… because it seemed like a good idea," Remus replied brokenly.
The air suddenly shifted around Dumbledore and the two friends braced themselves for the lashing his anger was about to bestow upon them.
"I know you are incredibly smart, Remus, you always have been," he said, his voice radiating power, "but if you honestly believe that this was a good idea, then I must have been mistaken about you for many, many years." He then turned his intensified gaze to Sirius. "And you, Sirius. There have only been two times in the past where I have been truly disappointed in you. One time was not deserved, and the other time was in the middle of your sixth year."
Sirius winced as the painful memory was brought up to the surface, and he felt Remus stiffen slightly beside him. He sent his friend a wary look, to which he received a small, controlled smile in return. Sirius sighed in relief and turned back to Dumbledore, whose gaze was still boring into his. When Dumbledore spoke again, his voice was shaking with repressed fury.
"The article was absolutely repulsive. You said things about Harry I never would have thought possible. I can say to you in full honesty, Sirius, that I have never been so ashamed to call you my student."
Sirius was momentarily shocked by Dumbledore's words, but he then jumped to defend himself. "I never said those things about Harry!" Sirius protested. "How could I? I love him, he's my life! I would never do anything like that to him!"
"Then why is it in ink, for everyone in our world to see?" Dumbledore thundered, standing up.
"THAT'S NOT MY ARTICLE!" Sirius shouted back desperately, leaping up as well so he could face Dumbledore head on.
Dumbledore paused. "What do you mean, Mr. Black?" he asked, his voice quieting slightly.
"You wouldn't let me talk to Harry, but I had to make him understand!" he gushed. "So I found a way to tell him everything I wanted to without physically speaking to him-- I realize it was a loophole, and now I know not to ever do anything like this again! We met with a writer last night, Ignatius Delch, and we talked to him and sat there and watched him write the article! And then we read it, and it was amazing! It was absolutely perfect, wasn't it Rem?" Sirius spun quickly to look at Remus, who nodded his head quickly.
Sirius continued frantically, speaking rapidly in his panic. "It announced my freedom and cleared up the whole Wormtail thing and then said that I loved Harry and was going to buy him a house and we were going to be a family and everything was going to be perfect…" Sirius trailed off, tears running freely down his cheeks. "I read the article Delch wrote, Professor, and that is not my bloody article!"
Dumbledore surveyed him a moment, softened by the raw emotion Sirius was showing. Sirius was not one to show emotion freely, he knew, much like Harry. For him to be this upset… Dumbledore knew he was telling the truth. He then nodded and sighed heavily before sitting down, pressing the tips of his fingers together as he thought. Sirius remained standing for a moment, breathing heavily before suddenly plopping down into his seat in a miserable jumble of limbs.
"Why did you not verify that he would indeed be printing the article he showed you? That was very careless of you--"
"But we did, sir," Remus cut in quietly. "We made him give a wizards oath."
Dumbledore's eyes sharpened. "And he printed it anyway? If he broke the oath, he'll have no magic now. We need to speak with him." Dumbledore rose and made his way to the fireplace.
"Sir, it wasn't Delch," Remus said. Dumbledore turned around to face him and waited for him to continue, a questioning look on his face. "When we made him take the oath, he said, 'You have my oath as a wizard, the only person who sees this before it gets published is my editor.'" Remus sighed miserably before continuing. "His editor is Rita Skeeter. It says so at the end of the article."
Dumbledore's eyes flashed and his entire frame went rigid with fury. "I want you two to stay here until I get back. Do I make myself clear?" he asked sternly.
"Yes, sir," they responded.
Dumbledore then whipped around and grabbed a handful of floo powder, throwing it into the fire and yelling, "Daily Prophet Headquarters!"
He then stepped into the fire and disappeared in a swirl of green flame, leaving two anxious, heart broken men in his wake.
Sirius and Remus turned and looked at each other slowly, stunned at the morning's events.
"… Oh Merlin," Sirius whispered. "Remus…"
"I know, Siri." He replied, knowing without asking that Sirius was running through each individual line of the paper, analyzing how badly it would hurt the most important person in their lives. "I know."
They fell into silence as they waited for Dumbledore. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, and still Dumbledore did not return. At one point Remus pulled out his wand and murmured an incantation, but Sirius was too distracted to notice.
Finally Dumbledore returned a little over three hours since the time he had left, looking slightly worn out but immensely pleased with himself.
"…What happened, Albus?" Sirius asked hesitantly.
"I've taken care of it, Sirius," he replied. "There is nothing for you to worry about." He then looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "Except for Harry, that is."
Sirius and Remus merely looked at him, shocked at his mild temperament after he had left so angrily before.
"You've… taken care of it? What does that mean? Are… are you still mad at us?" Sirius asked, voice quavering slightly.
Dumbledore sighed. "I am disappointed, but not in the two of you. This is my fault. I am sorry that you felt the need to go to the papers in order to talk to Harry. I fear that this situation could have been avoided entirely if I had let you do what you wanted in the first place."
He then paused and surveyed Sirius over his glasses. "You are his godfather, Sirius. Harry is in your custody. From now on, all decisions on his behalf are made by you. And no, I am not mad at either of you."
Sirius stood stock still, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging slightly open.
"You… you're serious?" he asked, hope lacing its way into his voice.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled slightly as he said, "Actually, I'm Albus. I believe you would be Sirius."
Sirius looked momentarily confused before he caught on and then scowled at the age old pun. He looked ready to retort, but then his face morphed into a small smile. "He's in my custody?" he asked. "For real?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, Sirius. For real. Harry is now legally your responsibility, just like James and Lily wanted."
Sirius' eyes filled up with tears and he blinked rapidly, trying to clear them.
He took a deep breath and met Dumbledore's eyes squarely. "Thank you, sir," he said sincerely. "I'll take good care of him, I promise," he whispered.
Neither Dumbledore nor Remus replied to his last, quiet statement, as they were not quite sure if Sirius was talking to them… or to James and Lily.
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A/N: Well everyone, there we go. This was really Part One of a huge, two part chapter. Maybe even three part. The next bit should be out soon. I promise it will be out in less than a month (md and aerohead, here's where you come in to motivate me! Lol). I hope you all liked Chapter 14, please review! And thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed my past chapters, please continue to do so! Feel free to email me, especially if it's to bug me to update faster. I really do work more quickly when people ask for more chapters. Thanks again to all of you, much love!
Xoxo,
Willow Ann