Disclaimer: All previous disclaimers apply.
Chapter 29 (If)
Reg was standing by the admittance desk, with a chart in hand, talking to a Medi-Witch. The waiting room was, as usual, filled with people suffering from various hexes, curses, and incorrectly cast spells.
The entrance doors to St. Mungo's flew open and Dumbledore stormed in followed by Potter women. He strode up to the desk, his blue eyes bristling. "Where has James Potter been taken?" He demanded.
The Welcome Witch looked up from her copy of Witches' Weekly and asked in a bored tone, "Who?"
"James Potter. He was brought in here illegally from Diagon Alley," Dumbledore stated.
"Oh yeah, the guy who was screaming and frothing at the mouth and who was arrested outside the potion shop by MLE. Try the Janus Thickey Ward."
"Has he suffered spell damage?" Dumbledore asked aghast.
"No, we just don't have anywhere else to put somebody that's flying on their broom upside down like he is. That's our most secure ward."
"Don't worry," Dumbledore assured Althea and Mary. "I'll have him out and back at Potter Manor in no time."
"Good luck with that!" Reg muttered, smirking. Potter was still sceeching and frothing! His personal healer would probably have to order a calming potion for him.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Severus came out of his and Lily's room the next morning, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He could hear that Jasmine was awake and talking to her doll. He pushed open the door of the nursery and went in. "Good morning, sweetheart," Severus said, lifting Jasmine out of her crib. Jasmine pointed to her doll and Severus picked it up and gave it to her. It was a soft, stuffed, doll that Petunia had given to her and it was Jasmine's favorite toy. He took her into the bathroom, gave her a bath, and then got her dressed. Lily was just coming out of the bedroom and Severus handed Jasmine to her. "I'll get breakfast."
Lily nodded. "Okay."
He went down to the kitchen, got bacon, eggs and other ingredients he needed out of the refrigerator. There was a tapping at the window and Severus saw the Daily Prophet owl, carrying the morning paper. He grabbed five Knuts out of a cup on the counter and opened the window, put the Knuts into the small, leather sack the owl carried, and took the paper. He opened and the headline blared, 'Potter Heir in Lockdown at St. Mungo's After Serious Public Breakdownǃ' The byline was of course Rita Skeeter's. According to the article, Potter was confined to the Janus Thickey Ward and even Dumbledore had failed to get him released. Dumbledore was insisting somebody had cast a dark spell on him to make him act like a madman. "And guess who he thinks likely did it," Severus muttered.
Lily came into the kitichen dressed for school and holding Jasmine. She put her into her high chair and Severus handed Lily the paper. "Looks as if Potty won't be bothering us for at least a little while."
Lily laughed when she read the article. "Do they use straitjackets at St. Mungo's?"
"I don't know. I'll have to ask Reg, but the way Potter was when MLE disapparated with him, it looked like he definitely could have used one."
"I suppose he's in the Thickey Ward because that's the only secure ward they have. The rest are all open wards."
"Dumbledore must be really frustrated that he couldn't get Potter out either," Severus remarked as he put breakfast on the table. He put a plate of scrambeled eggs on the tray of Jasmine's high chair. She was eating some solid food now and really liked scrambled eggs. "I think once Macklin publicly releases the news that Dumbledore's stepped down as headmaster, he's going to find his influence has diminished quite a bit.
"But he's still Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump and those are powerful positions," Lily pointed out.
Severus shrugged. "The Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards might start having second thoughts about him once they find out he had to step down due to his incompetence."
Lily grinned. "I wonder if Mrs. Potter's secretly mourning the fact that James and Mary don't have a heir yet."
"No doubt. She's probably in a panic that the holier-than-thou Potter fortune might go to some family she considers completely unworthy, when they all die."
"You mean like the Prince family?" Lily asked.
"My grandparents did tell me that there were Potter's that married into the family here and there," Severus replied. "Although I don't know how many generations back that might have been."
"As far as I know there are no other Potter's to inherit if James and Mary don't produce an heir because they've been a one child family for generations." Lily rolled her eyes. "Mrs. Potter gave me a lesson on the Potter geneology when she thought I was going to marry him."
"It seems Pureblood families tend that way. My grandfather had a younger brother, but he took off somewhere to find his fortune and apparently died. The Gringott elves searched for him for years, but couldn't find a trace of him and that's why they settled on me because I was the last Prince alive."
Once they finished with breakfast, Lily flooed to the College of Potions and Severus did the dishes then got Jasmine ready. He flooed over to the Evans' and gave her to Iris. He saw Dudley was there and assumed Petunia was already at the shop. "We were so glad to see that Potter's been confined," Iris said as she took Jasmine.
"He really blew his cork yesterday as Lily said. Dumbledore must have told him about him having to step down as headmaster."
"He's been fired then?" Iris asked.
"Yes, but he was given the choice of resigning and teaching again. He chose that and he will be teaching fifth through seventh Transfiguration."
"Goodǃ" Iris snorted. "He should have been fired years agoǃ"
"You won't hear an argument from me," Severus replied. He gave Jasmine a kiss and waved to her before he stepped back into the floo. He stepped out into his shop where Petunia was busy restocking the beauty counter with more bath salts. "These are all but flying out the door," she remarked. "The women just love them. Other than potion ingredients, I'd say these are our best selling item."
"I never figured on them being so popular," Severus confessed. "I really just created them on a lark."
"I saw in the Prophet this morning that we won't be bothered by Potter ...at least not for awhile anyway." Vernon and Petunia had started taking the Daily Prophet once they'd found out Dudley was magical.
"Probably a very, short while," Severus replied. "I imagine Dumbledore will use whatever influence he still has left to get him out." He shook his head and went back to his lab.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Dumbledore strode up to the desk outside the Janus Thickey Ward, where two men stood, and said imperiously, "I wish to see James Potter."
The Medi-Wizard who was manning the desk looked up and said, "Sorry, Professor, but he isn't allowed any visitors at this time."
"On whose orders?" Dumbledore demanded.
"That would be mine," the other man spoke up. "I am Mind Healer Cromwell." The Potter's personal healer, Healer Woburn, had contacted him and asked for a consult on James.
"James isn't crazy," Dumbledore snapped. "He's just been driven to distraction by having to deal with Severus Snape and his dark ways."
"None-the-less, my order stands," Cromwell said, picking up a chart and leaving Dumbledore glaring.
"He's one of the best mind healers St. Mungo's has. He'll have Mr. Potter back on his feet in no time," the Medi-Wizard said cheerfully.
Dumbledore went over to the door and looked in the window. He could see James in a bed, but he was not moving. They must have him restrained by a magical spell Dumbledore assumed. His eyes looked dull and unfocused probably due to a potion. He decided to floo to the Ministry and see if he could find somebody to help him get James freed.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Severus came out of his lab after brewing all day. He had just finished some potions that people had run across in family vaults or as part of an inheritance and brought him to brew for them. He heard voices out in the shop and found Lily and Petunia talking with Charity and Pomona.
"Dumbledore announced today that he has decided to step down as headmaster and return to teaching Transfiguration," Pomona said cheerfully.
"We don't think that's the whole story," Charity added. "But none-the-less we're glad he won't be headmaster anymore."
"I'm sure many of the board members are happy with his decision. I did hear from Augusta they were displeased with how slow he was adding the changes they wanted," Pomona said.
"Hogwarts has fallen behind other magical schools and we used to be number one so I'm not at all unhappy to see him go," Charity said. "I wish he'd decided to retire so we wouldn't have his influence anywhere."
Pomona turned her attention back to why she'd come to the store. "Severus, I need another jug of your wonderful hand sanitizer. The students love itǃ I've even caught them snitching some of it to keep in their dorm rooms."
Severus nodded and went to fetch it from the household products shelves. He came back with the jug of it and handed it to Pomona. "How much do I owe you, Severus?"
"Nothing, Professor, I'll bill Hogwarts once the new headmaster arrives." He already knew that Dumbledore would not pay for anything purchased at Snape & Snape.
"Fine," Pomona said cheerfully. "In that case I will indulge myself in some of those lovely bath salts then."
"I saw in the Prophet this morning that Potter won't be hanging around outside this shop anymore or at least not for awhile," Charity remarked.
Lily shook her head then said, "He was standing outside yesterday afternoon screeching, waving his wand around, and practically frothing at the mouth. He looked like he'd completely blown his corkǃ"
"Somebody thankfully called the magical constables and they took him away," Petunia replied.
"Straight to St. Mungo's and the Janus Thickey Ward apparently," Severus added.
"I'm sure Dumbledore is doing anything he can think of to try and get him out of there," Pomona added.
"If Wizard society is anything like Muggle society, he won't be able to ...or at least not right away," Lily said. "If Potter were behaving like that in Muggle society, he would have been put in a mental hospital and kept under observation for 72 hours."
"We can all hope he isn't released anytime soon," Severus said with a sigh.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Dumbledore was in Cornelius Fudge's office at the Ministry, pacing up and down and alternately raging at the unfairness of James' commitment. "Albus, I'm not the Minister of Magic and I cannot do anything for Mr. Potter," he protested.
"Somebody here should be able to help me get James out of there and back to Potter Manorǃ" Albus fumed.
"You can try the office of Regis Woolcott. He's a retired healer who is the administrator of St, Mungo's. He may be able to help you get Mr. Potter released."
Dumbledore stopped pacing and smiled then said, "Thank you, Cornelius, I knew you would be able to help me with this problem."
Dumbledore went to Level Three. For some strange reason which he never understood, St Mungo's administrator's office was located on the same level as the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. He found the office and entered it. An older witch sitting behind a desk looked up.
"Headmaster Albus Dumbledore to see Healer Woolcott." He may as well make use of his title while he still had it.
"If you'll be so kind as to wait, Headmaster, I will check with Healer Wolcott to see if he's available," she said getting up from behind her desk.
Albus sat down in a chair and looked around the office until he saw the witch coming back and rose to his feet. "Healer Woolcott will see you now, Headmaster."
He smiled and nodded his thanks to her and went into the office. Healer Woolcott rose from behind his desk, smiling, and shook Albus' hand, "Good to see you, Headmaster, please sit down. I'll ask Gwendolyn to bring us some tea."
Albus sat down, but held up his hand. "That's very kind of you, but I just need your attention."
"Alright, how may I help you?"
"James Potter is currently a patient in the Janus Thickey Ward. He was taken there illegally. Healer Cromwell is not allowing him any visitors ...even his wife and mother and from what I can tell, he is being restrained and is being kept on a heavy dosage of potions."
"What is it you wish me to do?" Healer Woolcott asked, his voice having grown slightly cooler.
Albus didn't notice that and continued on, "James needs to be released from St. Mungo's and allowed to return to Potter Mansion. He'll recover best there. There's nothing wrong with him that being home with his wife and mother cannot fix."
In response Healer Woolcott waved his wand and three pieces of parchment floated out of a drawer and down on his desk. After studying them for a few minutes, Woolcott said, "This is the initial report on Mr. Potter by Magical Law Enforcement when they first arrived in Diagon Alley. It looks as if he was quite incoherent, screaming about dark wizards, waving his wand about dangerously, and alternatively screaming threats at the owners of the apothecary. One of the shop owners next to the apothecary summoned MLE because he was worried Mr. Potter was a danger to the entirety of Diagon Alley."
"That's ridiculous! James wouldn't hurt anyone unless he felt they were a danger to the wizarding world!" Albus snorted. "He's a member of one of the finest light families in the wizarding world and he helped capture Voldemort and imprison him in Azkaban!"
"There are two other reports attached to this one. It appears Mr. Potter has quite of an obsession, although in my opinion, it far exceeds an obsession, with Mr. Snape, the owner of the apothecary. His home was attacked by Death Eaters because of Potter's lies. He was seriously injured by Potter once and Mr. Snape had to place special wards around his shop to keep Mr. Potter out. He and his wife have also been forced to only use the Floo system to get around even in Diagon Alley. The neighboring shop owner reported that Potter has been lurking outside the wards on many occasions. A fellow Hit Wizard reported that Mr. Potter asked him to go inside the apothecary to try and find out if Mr. Snape had any dark ingredients or was brewing dark potions. Mr. Snape's mother-in-law caught Mr. Potter rummaging through the Snape's dustbins, probably looking for something he could implicate him on. I am guessing that this previous behavior is why Mr. Potter is currently a resident of the Janus Thickey Ward."
"I am sure James is sorry for losing his temper, but surely that is not a reason to force him to see a mind healer?"
"I cannot discuss the specifics of Mr. Potter's case, Headmaster, but I will say if he cooperates with Healer Cromwell, who will know if Mr. Potter is just pretending to, he will be back home soon."
Dumbledore got to his feet and snapped, "This is unacceptable, locking James in a security ward, pouring potions down his throat, and not allowing him any visitors just because he lost his temper!"
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Headmaster, but if and when he's dismissed is entirely up to how well Mr. Potter responds to treatment and whether his personal healer and Healer Cromwell feel he's able to handle himself properly in the outside world."
Dumbledore left in a huff.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Severus and Lily were in the back sorting the potion ingredients the store had just received and checking them for freshness. Petunia was working in the front part of the store. They heard the bell over the door ring as someone came in and a few seconds later, Petunia came back. "Dumbledore is here and wants to see Severus," she whispered.
"I don't wish to see him if he's just going to heap his vituperation on me because I'm assuming he hasn't managed to get Potter released," Severus replied. He sighed, "But he'll just keep returning if I don't." He straightened his lab coat and followed Petunia. Lily went with him. She wasn't going to allow Sev to face Dumbledore alone.
Dumbledore was looking around the store as they came out. "What may I do for you, Headmaster?" Severus asked.
"As you know James has been detained at St. Mungo's after someone called Magical Law Enforcement on him."
"I was going to, but somebody else beat me to it," Petunia said. "Potter was standing outside the wards, screaming, waving his wand around, and all but frothing at his mouth! He looked as if he'd gone completely off the rails!"
"James has just been worried about what has been happening in the wizarding world and you are contributing to it by not allowing him access to this store so he can be assured that no dark potions are being brewed here and you aren't selling any dark ingredients."
Lily shrugged. "Oh! And here I thought maybe he had a breakdown because he and Mary haven't managed to produce an heir yet."
"I should let Potter in here so he can hide dark ingredients or dark potions in our store and then accuse me of brewing them and use them as an excuse to execute me," Severus replied bluntly. "One of his fellow Hit Wizards warned me that he was trying to find a reason to get me arrested or even killed and our shop shut down."
"James would never do that!" Dumbledore huffed. "No Gryffindor would act in any other way but honorable!"
"Honorable you say? Oh right! Is that why he attacked me and severely injured me when I didn't even have my wand out and also tried to enter my home late at night when I wasn't there and probably vandalize it?" Severus snapped.
"Don't forget, Sev, that James was the reason Death Eaters attacked your home because he spread a false rumor in the Leakey Cauldron about you offering to join the Death Eaters and spy for Dumbledore," Lily pointed out. "Such honorable actions!"
"If you would just tell the healers that you were mistaken and James really isn't any threat to you, I am sure he would be released."
"We aren't going to do any such thing, Headmaster, so just go back to Hogwarts and enjoy your final days as headmaster!" Lily said angrily. "Potter can thank his lucky stars he isn't a Muggle because he'd be locked up in a mental hospital or in jail because of his previous actions!"
Petunia grinned. "Maybe Potter and wifey should be concentrating their efforts on having that heir his mother wants so badly."
Dumbledore straightened up, his blue eyes blazing in anger. "Well, I can see I'm getting nowhere with you three!" He turned and left the apothecary, letting the door slam shut.
"Talk about somebody who's gone off the rails! I think Dumbledore has too!" Petunia exclaimed.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Healer Cromwell unlocked the door of the Janus Thickey Ward and went inside. He walked over to James' bed and sat down in a chair alongside of the bed. Cromwell had ordered the discontinuation of the potions James was being given since he preferred his patients to be clear headed when they were talking. He opened James' chart and studied it for a few moments.
James turned his head and growled, "Who are you?"
Cromwell looked up. "I am Master Mind Healer Cromwell. Do you know where you are?"
"St. Mungo's," James mumbled.
"Do you recall why you were brought here?"
"Did you go to Hogwarts?" James suddenly demanded.
Cromwell sighed, but given James's history he'd just been through, the question wasn't unexpected. "Yes, but I graduated before you even started Hogwarts and I was a Ravenclaw."
"Bunch of bores with their noses always stuck inside a book. Never did anything else."
Cromwell ignored him and asked again, "Do you recall why you were brought here, Mr. Potter?"
"Why am I still here?" James demanded. "I don't belong here! Why hasn't Dumbledore or my family gotten me out?"
"Because, Mr. Potter, your personal healer, Healer Woburn, asked me to evaluate you so you will remain here until that is completed. You can cooperate with me so I can decide what treatment you might need and be freed of that binding spell or you can continue to be hostile and the binding spell will remain. The choice is yours."
James looked dumbfounded for a moment then snarled, "Severus Snape ruined my life. He stole Lily from me and everything's gone down hill since then! He ruined my plans to be head of the Auror Department and eventually Minister of Magic!"
"No one person can take anyone away from you unless they want to go. If you wanted to be Head of the Auror Department then you needed to prove to people in charge that you could do the job and if you wanted to be Minister of Magic then you needed to prove to the magical community that you could do the job. You don't have a Merlin given right to Lily or to either of the positions you wanted."
"Severus Snape is a dark wizard and should've been put in Azkaban right after he was born!"
Healer Cromwell closed his chart and got up. "Why don't you rest, Mr. Potter, and I will be back to talk with you later on."
"I don't want to talk! I want to get out of here!" James yelled.
Cromwell left the ward, locking the door securely after him. He went back to the desk, intending to leave the chart there. The Medi-Wizard wasn't there; only Healer Woburn was. "How is James doing?"
Cromwell shook his head and said bluntly, "I believe he's a lot worse off emotionally then you had originally implied."
"How so?" Woburn asked. "I just thought he was truly upset about Dumbledore deciding to step down as headmaster."
"Initially he appears to be extremely paranoid about Mr. Snape. He blames him for everything that he feels has gone wrong in his life. I do not feel comfortable with him being released. My intial impression is that he is going to need long-term treatment."
Healer Woburn shook his head. He knew Mrs. Potter and her daughter-in-law would never agree with that!
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Severus and Lily and Petunia and Vernon were at the Evans' house for an early Sunday breakfast after which they and Petunia would floo to the shop. On Sunday's the shope was only open from eight to noon.
"I was so pleased to see Potter's been institutionalized at St. Mungo's. I would think the magical government would think he was a danger to them. From what I've seen he's so obsessed with you, Sev, I don't think he even cares if his actions might expose the wizarding world to us non-magical people." Richard said.
"From what Pet said, the bloke sounds as if he's gone completely off his rocker!" Vernon stated.
"And Dumbledore just keeps defending him and blaming everybody else for Potter's problems that he's created for himself!" Iris said indignantly. "Imagine digging through somebody's dustbins to see if you can find dirt on them! I have to agree with Vernon!"
"We just have to get through the rest of the school year then Dumbledore will be gone too," Lily said. "Or at least he won't be headmaster anymore, but he still holds the positions of Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump."
"Well, when they find out how weirdly he's acting over this," Petunia said. "He may get his pink slips on those positions too!"
"I'm looking forward to being rid of both Potter and Dumbledore!" Severus replied, rolling his eyes. "The new headmaster will be completely different. He's already visited our shop and told me he plans to make our shop Hogwart's sole supplier." He turned to Lily and Petunia. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce him to you when he was in the shop, but he needs to be kept under wraps until the end of the school year."
Lily and Petunia both nodded and Petunia said, "Understandable. We certainly don't want Dumbledore finding him and harrassing him or having his cronies harass him into changing his mind."
"Dumbledore would do exactly that if he found him!" Lily agreed.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Althea and Mary sat and listened to Albus explain how he had tried to get James released, but to no avail the next morning.
Mary got extremely angry when she heard that the Snape's had refused to go to St. Mungo's and admit that they'd made a mistake about James being a threat to them! "Lily always did give herself airs when she just lived up the street from Slimy Snape and was almost as poor as him!"
"Snape is getting his revenge on James that he feels he deserves," Dumbledore said sagely. "Snape hated owing James a life's debt because he arrogantly and stupidly tried to expose Remus by going to Screeching Shack when he was fully transformed and James willingly risked his life to save him."
Althea was ringing her hands. "I just don't know what to do, Albus. James need to be here with us not in a ward with a bunch of witches and wizards who damaged themselves with their own inept spells!"
"Perhaps if you spoke to Healer Woburn ..."
"I tried!" Mary said angrily. "But he gave some idiotic story about Magical Law Enforcement saying that James' mind needed to be evaluated before he could be released. I don't see how they could know anything about James' mind!"
"They do not," Dumbledore replied. "What I'm guessing is that Snape told them some lie about James threatening him and swearing that he was out of his mind and needed to be in a secure ward at St Mungo's."
Mary got up. "If you'll excuse me. I'm going up and send a note to Healer Woburn and see if I can owl James a letter since they won't let me see my own husband."
"A good idea, Mary," Althea said encouragingly. "Let me know if he says you can as I would like to owl James a letter also."
Mary went upstairs to her and James' bedroom, took some floo powder out of china dish on the mantle, stepped into the floo, and then threw down the powder. "Leaky Cauldron," she said. She stepped out of the floo and took her wand out of the pocket of her robe, heading towards the courtyard.
Sirius had been sitting in the Leaky, having breakfast and reading the Quidditch scores in the Prophet, when Mary stepped out of the floo, looking very angry. Reg, whom he was now sharing a flat with, had told him about James being brought into St. Mungo's after he'd been apprehended outside the apothecary, screaming at the top of his lungs, and yelling threats against Severus Snape.
Sirius put down his paper and got up and went out into the courtyard just in time to see Mary going through the opening into Diagon Alley. The opening immediately closed again. He went over to it and quickly opened it and darted out into the street, looking around. He didn't see Mary, but he had a bad feeling. He headed for Snape & Snape Apothecary and pulled open the door, cursing when the bell hanging over the door rang.
Lily's sister, looking extremely pale and frightened, ran over to him, grabbed his arm, and pointed frantically at the back of the shop, "Potter's wife …she's threatening Lily and Severus. I think she's gone off the rails too!"
Thank you for reading! Please review!
