Chapter 21

Sincere Apologies from the House of Weasley

Ron couldn't help but find it odd being in Hogwarts during the summer, it was so empty and abandoned looking. Usually you couldn't go anywhere without bumping into people, during lessons it was even worse. Even the ghosts were curiously absent, and there were always a dozen of them around all the time, even during dinner. Realizing he'd fallen behind, Ron ran to catch up with his father who was walking quite fast. Looking at his dad, he realized he was very pale; he obviously wasn't looking forward to this conversation at all. Would Harry ever be able to forgive his dad? Would he even want to be friends with him after what his family had tried to do? He prayed Harry didn't blame him for something not of his doing. Yet a snide thought hit him, that's exactly what he'd done to his fellow classmates, just because of their own parents.

"Come on, Ron, don't dawdle," said Arthur, opening the doors to the Great Hall with difficulty but succeeding. Usually magic did it for you; how odd, every time he went near the doors they opened at a touch ― you never actually had to bodily shove the door open. Maybe it was different during the summers.

"Coming," said Ron absently, sliding into the Great Hall, watching the door shut immediately instead of staying open.

"Something wrong with the doors?" enquired Arthur, smiling at Minerva but it was brittle and tense.

"Is everything alright, Arthur?" asked Minerva standing up and striding towards him looking deeply concerned. His face wore a look almost identical to the one she'd seen on Albus' face. He had been hiding something; she'd known it, but what? And what did it have to do with their fellow Order member?

"No, it isn't. I'm sure you will be finding out about it soon enough; I'm here to speak to Harry," Arthur revealed, tired beyond belief.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Minerva, praying that the Weasleys hadn't lost a member of their family.

Arthur merely nodded grimly, they were alive if that counted as okay, and he wasn't sure what could be done to save his family.

"Harry will be here soon, it's a good job you came at breakfast, it's the only time we see him," Minerva revealed, but it wasn't demanded that residents take any meals in the hall during the summer. She was surprised Harry wasn't spending more time out of Severus' rooms, but considering what he'd been through... it made sense he would need time to recover. He was different though, quieter, less irate than he was a few days ago.

"I see," said Arthur.

Ron frowned at that information; why wasn't Harry exploring Hogwarts? Why would he stay cooped up? He absolutely hated being stuck in one place longer than a few hours, probably due to the fact his family tried to keep him in one place and forget his existence. This was so far from Harry's normal character that he was really alarmed; he wanted to blame Snape of course. Yet he couldn't do that, could he? Since it was Snape who'd practically rescued him; he'd told the others where he was. It wasn't the first time Snape had saved Harry. He didn't get it, Snape hated Harry, more than any other student, yet he was constantly saving his life? Adults were complicated, and he hoped he never ended up like that. War changed people, but to that extent? Snape wasn't just a figure in the war though, was he? He was a spy, that would change someone, wouldn't it? It was dangerous having so many people knowing; while he was here ― he realized he should maybe look for a book about Occlumency. Purebloods usually learned that before entering Hogwarts, unfortunately with so many brothers, it had been a subject that got discarded very early on. Bill and Charlie had learned; Percy had drifted from the family so he didn't know if he had... but he might know.

"Take a seat, there's more than enough to go around," said Minerva, guiding both of them to the Head table.

"Thank you, Minerva," replied Arthur, but he didn't move any of the freely available food to a plate. He hadn't been able to eat any of his own wife's breakfast, never mind anything here at Hogwarts. Even Ron didn't dig in, and his son had never missed an opportunity to eat.

"Not hungry?" enquired Minerva, now becoming even more suspicious and concerned. Arthur had never been the really silent type; well at least he wasn't compared to Severus. He was usually a joyful fellow, albeit slightly quiet compared to his wife. Right now he did look as though he had just lost his favourite thing in the world.

"Not really," replied Arthur solemnly.

"What time does Harry usually come?" asked Ron, leaning forward so he could see his Transfiguration teacher properly.

"He's usually here by this―" admitted Minerva staring at the clock on the wall. "Ah, speak of the devil," she added, seeing the doors open and Severus and Harry walking in.

"Harry, I would like to talk to you, if you have a minute," said Arthur, his weary eyes staring into impassive green ones.

"Alright," said Harry, that look wasn't a good one on Arthur.

"Privately, please?" Arthur questioned, not sure if Harry would want to speak to him alone. He certainly had no trouble telling the Order what he thought of Albus Dumbledore. He only wished he had taken it to heart; he was such a fool.

"Follow me," said Harry turning and walking away, his face impassive.

Arthur turned to Ron and said "Stay here, I'll be back when we are done," he told him sternly.

Ron nodded solemnly, he didn't really want to be there for that conversation anyway, he loved his dad and he didn't want to choose between them. He didn't want to but he might have to; it was a choice he hoped didn't come into play.

Arthur didn't even wait for his son to agree before he was walking out hastily, trying to keep up with Harry who was walking quite swiftly towards an unused classroom.

"This will do," said Harry, opening the closest classroom he could find, which was just a few doors down from the Transfiguration classroom. He closed the door behind the nervous wizard, watching him jump. He shouldn't have gotten so much amusement out of it, but he did. He twitched when he felt what he swore was someone walking past him. It was just that feeling he got when he was using his cloak, and trying to avoid detection. It couldn't be Dumbledore, so it was either Severus or someone else in the Order maybe? He continued to listen and look around the room cautiously. He stiffened slightly when he felt a finger at his neck― so it was Severus, then.

"What do you want?" enquired Harry, facing Arthur and crossing his arms.

Arthur opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, staring at the young man in a new light. He had changed so much since he'd spent any amount of time with him. Really, the longest he'd ever spent was during the summer before Ron and Harry's fourth year. He had taken them both to the Quidditch World Cup, and he'd stayed over afterwards. He had been working, so he hadn't spent that much time with him individually and with so many kids... he hadn't spent as much time as he wanted to with him. He was rather intimidating, especially with the cool steely look in his eyes. It reminded him of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Well?" Harry frowned; he didn't think he'd seen Arthur Weasley at such a loss for words, not even when he tried to find the right words to tell him not to go after Sirius Black. His neck prickled slightly, which made him want to turn around and try and find out where exactly Severus was now.

"I am so sorry, Harry, I truly had no idea," whispered Arthur, rubbing his sweaty palms on his trousers.

"No idea about what?" replied Harry, impassively; making Arthur work for the apology he so obviously wanted to give him.

"You…you don't know?" said Arthur, wide-eyed; if that was true, what was with the dark attitude he had?

"About?" asked Harry.

"The…contract," spluttered Arthur; this conversation wasn't going the way he hoped. The urge to sit down was strong, but there wasn't a chair in the room.

"I wasn't aware of any contract in my name," revealed Harry sardonically.

Arthur blinked, realizing who Harry was actually reminding him of: Severus. No, he had been like that before, when speaking to Dumbledore days ago. It was as though Harry had just had enough of it, and he wasn't about to let anyone get away with anything he perceived as something done wrongly against him. "There was, but it didn't work," whispered Arthur ashamed.

"That's a good thing, otherwise I wouldn't have been responsible for my actions," sniped Harry, his green eyes glinting coldly. "Why?" he then demanded in a deceptively quiet voice.

"It was a very grievous mistake on my part; I listened and led with my heart instead of my beliefs," sighed Arthur quietly, shaking his head as if he could dislodge his mistakes and make everything alright again.

"A grievous mistake? Nearly ruining someone's life is a mistake?" Harry asked his voice strangled as he tried to maintain his composure. He slammed his mental shields up as far as they could go, keeping himself composed. Almost right away he felt calm; it certainly had been something worth learning.

"I…well…it…wasn't quite like that," stuttered Arthur, sweat beginning to gather at his brow.

"Then what was it like?!" snapped Harry, glaring at the red headed wizard. He had almost ruined his life? And for what?! FOR WHAT?

"A serious lapse in judgement," said Arthur, "It may very well cost us the Weasley reputation."

"I saved your damn life! And you were eager to sign my life away!" hissed Harry, "Not just yours but you damn daughter as well. You owe me two times over, and this was how you wanted to repay me? And all you care about is your reputation?!"

"No, Harry, no, I am genuinely sorry for what happened; if you want to blame us and hate us then there is nothing I can do to stop you. I beg that you don't blame my children for what happened, especially Ron, he's more furious than you know," said Arthur quietly and desperately. He prayed that Harry wouldn't blame Ron for what happened, he had a feeling Ron was serious about not speaking to them again over this. "If it's any consolation, I had planned on coming to speak to you today…about the contract―I took what my daughter said at face value; she will pay for her lies," he added looking forlorn.

Harry stared at him and as angry as he was at the situation, he couldn't remain angry at Arthur. Not only had he been good to him... well, in small ways... he had taken him to the Quidditch World Cup, and did let him stay at the Burrow. He liked it there; who wouldn't ― all the food he could eat, constant company and the feeling of normalcy in the magical household. It was the complete opposite to the Dursleys; it honestly couldn't get any more different. In the end he knew who this was down to, who he really should be furious at: Dumbledore. He couldn't let Arthur away with it though, not completely, he had tried to marry him to Ginny after all.

"I wish there was something I could do…or say that would help," stated Arthur, unnerved by the constant silence. He would have preferred shouting, roaring, and accusations to this. He honestly did wish that he could think of something that would make Harry forgive them... but he realized what he had done was unforgivable. He was man enough to admit his mistakes and face them though.

"There isn't," scoffed Harry, nothing he said could make it better. If he hadn't had the help of the Goblins at Gringotts and of course Orion Black's forethought to protect his future heirs, he would have had to marry Ginny Weasley; he didn't get how the wizard could have done that. Marriage contracts were so outdated, archaic, that they shouldn't be used anymore.

"I realize that, but I had to apologise and let you know that I wish I hadn't done it," replied Arthur, his brown eyes brimming with regret and sadness.

"I wish you hadn't either," said Harry grimly, "You know nothing about me, yet you decided to sign that damn contract."

"That's what Ron said," Arthur admitted wryly, "Just know you are like a seventh son to me, I know you might not believe that but in time I hope to prove to you that I mean it. I'm pulling my family from the Order, severing all ties to Albus Dumbledore."

"I see," stated Harry, inwardly impressed that he would actually do that. It seems that the adults had finally realized Dumbledore didn't give two hoots about anyone... just his own plans.

"I have to go, I have the entire family coming, we need to inform them of what happened and decide on a course of action," admitted Arthur, "Do you wish to attend?" He had meant what he said, he did think of Harry as family.

"If I go anywhere near your daughter…I don't think I'd be responsible for my actions right now," stated Harry, warmth bubbling in his chest despite his reservations.

"I wouldn't blame you," Arthur said, sighing softly. Ginny wasn't going to be very popular in the Burrow today. "And Ron?"

"Ron didn't do anything," said Harry firmly, which was probably a first, he thought disingenuously.

"Thank you," Arthur replied, relived beyond belief.

Harry nodded curtly, remaining standing there, eventually Arthur awkwardly turned around and walked away. You could practically see the proverbial tail tucked between his legs.

"He's drugged with a potion," stated thin air, in Severus' voice.

"What kind?" asked Harry, his tone cautious; did he even want to know?

Severus appeared, wand in hand, and a piece of medical scan parchment in his other. How had he successfully managed to cast that spell without either of them hearing or seeing the paper coming from the wand? Then again this was a spy, first and foremost, if anyone could successfully cast it and remain hidden... it would be him. Although he had sensed him, he wasn't sure why but he had.

"I think you can guess," said Severus, "it's little wonder he signed the contract."

Harry sighed, "I swear I could strangle him," muttered Harry irately.

"Go talk to Mr. Weasley, I need to speak to Poppy for a few moments," demanded Severus.

"Who said I wanted to talk to him?" asked Harry surprised.

Severus just gave him a look until Harry smirked at him a little sheepishly. "I will see you in the Great Hall when I'm done, if you intend on going straight back down the chamber. I think perhaps you should write to Remus Lupin and see about him coming down to the chamber in a fortnight. That would be the best time to take the blood from him according to Salazar, between the moon cycles."

"I'll write to him," agreed Harry, before he left the unused classroom. It was time to talk to Ron.

Hospital Wing - Severus, Poppy & Helga Hufflepuff

"Severus what are you doing here?" asked Poppy entering her office, nobody usually went in there. She'd definitely been surprised when the wards went off alerting her to someone's presence in there. She'd had to rush there; a lot of confidential information was in her office, hence the reason for the wards. It couldn't be regarding a student since it was the holidays, and of course he had the medical information for all the Slytherins.

"I need two of your best sex education books, catering towards Muggle-borns as well as purebloods," stated Severus.

"Harry?" Poppy retorted shrewdly, before she moved over to her shelves and began searching for two of the best books she had.

"Why wasn't he in the class?" demanded Severus, looking around the room thoughtfully.

"I believe he was in the hospital wing unconscious at the time, the Dementor attack," said Poppy thoughtfully.

"Why didn't you take him aside?" asked Severus, frowning; Poppy should have known better.

"Truthfully? With everything else that was going on, it was the last thing on my mind. I was overworked with those damned Dementors being in a school full of children! Sneaking in because they didn't want to be embarrassed for some odd reason. As if it was something to be embarrassed about!" she said shaking her head, sometimes teenagers didn't make any sense whatsoever. A lot of them couldn't sleep because of them, and depression had been overwhelming the students. She'd given out more doses of cheering potion than in the rest her career.

"It wasn't one of the best ideas," agreed Severus, he'd had his own Slytherins coming to him, it didn't help that Draco was constantly mocking everyone who reacted even slightly negatively towards them. It didn't surprise him that his godson wasn't affected, he doubted the boy had a single bad memory worthy of causing him to be affected ... or making the Dementors interested in him.

"It was the worst idea in history," stated Poppy, finally selecting two books off the shelve; she passed them to Severus, knowing they were in good hands.

"Indeed," said Severus dryly, shrinking the books and placing them in his cloak pocket. "I have someone who wishes to be placed here in the hospital wing to talk to you. There is one condition: you cannot inform anyone about it, they will know to make themselves scarce whenever someone is near."

"Who?" enquired Poppy curious, sitting down in her chair and observing Severus in expectation. She was half wondering why Severus wanted to give Harry books about sexual education. How the hell did he even find out that Harry hadn't been in the class during his third year? She would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to hear that conversation.

Severus didn't answer, merely removed an empty frame ― at least it was for now― and enlarged it to its correct size. A sticking charm later, the frame was sitting nicely across from Poppy's desk. He wasn't surprised that as soon as he let go, the woman made an appearance.

"It can't be," gasped Poppy, gaping at the portrait in obvious shock and denial.

"Healer Poppy Pomfrey, may I introduce you to Lady Helga Hufflepuff; Helga, this is Poppy," stated Severus smirking at the look on her face. It was the same one he was sure had been on his face when he had heard and seen Salazar Slytherin for the first time in the Chamber.

"Hello, Healer Pomfrey, it's a pleasure to meet you, I've been dying to talk to someone about healing for such a long time!" she confessed, smiling sweetly at the stunned woman, patiently waiting on her gathering her scattered wits.

"I…I…dear…Merlin!" stuttered Poppy unprofessionally.

"He didn't go by that name you know, he preferred Emrys, sometimes Myrddin; only his enemies called him Merlin," stated Helga informatively.

Severus watched as Poppy pursed her lips, he'd never in his life seen her loss for words, and he had known her the majority of his life. Needless to say he was watching what was happening in front of him and thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Where have…why haven't you appeared before now?" asked Poppy, staring between Severus and Lady Helga flummoxed.

"We were frozen a long time ago," said Helga softly, "It is thanks to Severus and Harry that we are unfrozen."

"Who would dare freeze…?" Poppy felt angry, such disrespect was horrific to even contemplate.

"Dumbledore," stated Severus, his voice deceptively soft.

"No!" she rasped, "Why would he do such a thing?" She knew better than to think Severus was lying... even for a joke since she had known the wizard since he was eleven. If anything, Severus had no filter, he said what he thought; it was a good job he was such a competent wizard or he may have regretted some of the things he said as well as had more frequent trips to her hospital wing.

"Does anyone really understand him?" muttered Severus sardonically, giving her a 'your guess is as good as mine' look. "My assumption is to discredit Slytherin and divide the students; I cannot think of any other reason…unless it was pride. They would have always been more revered than him, and everyone would have looked to them instead of Albus."

Poppy wanted to deny that Dumbledore would do such a thing but the evidence did speak out against him. He had disrespected Hogwarts and the Founders by freezing them. There could be no good reason for his actions.

"Just keep it quiet, otherwise they will be frozen again," said Severus sharply, he would look into ways to prevent them from being frozen, but for now... they would just have to keep them hidden.

"Of course," said Poppy, anything to get to talk to Helga Hufflepuff! Honestly, she had so many questions she wanted to ask.

"Very well, I must depart," stated Severus, nodding his head at both women before he left the hospital wing.

Edited by Jordre thank you.