Resolution
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All recognisable characters, content, or locations belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Chapter 37: The Headmaster's Office
11th April
It was the first day of classes after the mid-semester break, and Harry was tense. Dumbledore had arrived back from his ICW duties the night before, and Harry had been expecting a summons to the man's office ever since. It seemed meetings with him were par for the course at the end of Harry's annual adventures, and he couldn't fathom why on Earth this year's would be any different.
At the same time, Harry was ecstatic. That morning, he'd received a letter from Sirius. The man had been successful with regards to his acquisition of Harry's custody, and thus, Harry was now his godfather's ward.
Although he'd never intended to, it was a relief to know that, legally, he would never again have to step foot on Privet Drive. Moreover, he now had the opportunity to have a family, and despite the fact it wasn't at all the conventional sort, it was more than Harry had previously. He had no idea what a family would be like, in reality, but Harry was optimistic, and eager to find out..
"Did you finish your Potions essay?" Ron asked.
"I half-arsed it," Harry answered, "Does that count?"
It was the only subject that Harry was getting below an 'E' in. He only offered the minimal amount of effort to pass, because Snape wouldn't have appreciated it if Harry intentionally tried, and Harry had given up on trying to please those who didn't give a damn about him. It freed up more time for his other subjects, but as May drew nearer, that didn't say much.
"Better than me," Seamus answered, "Not even written a paragraph yet."
"Good luck with that," Harry answered, and didn't bother to mention that it was due the next morning. Hermione had already mentioned it - frequently - over lunch, and it didn't bear repeating.
"I'll bloody need it, won't I?" Seamus offered the rest of them a rueful grin, dropped into the chair at his study desk, and withdrew his Potions things with a reluctant sigh.
By his own bed, Dean studied his watch. "You've got 16 hours until breakfast tomorrow morning. Have fun, mates.
Seamus laughed, and offered Dean the finger. "Bugger off, wanker."
"
Harry followed Dean out of the dormitory, entered the common room, and joined Neville at a seat by one of the tower's windows. He was occupied with a Herbology magazine, but as Dean and Harry sat, he put it away, offered them a grin, and asked about Dean's week away.
As Dean spoke, Harry was approached by Colin Creevey. The second year was predictably starstruck, and Harry was predictably uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he accepted the missive Colin offered him with a quiet murmur of gratitude, unfurled the scroll, and read it quickly.
"Everything alright?" Dean queried.
"Yeah," Harry confirmed, and addressed Neville, "We're expected at the headmaster's office after supper."
Neville appeared unsurprised. "Do you know if the others are, too?"
"I'd assume as much," Harry reasoned. "No use wondering though. We'll see soon enough."
"What did you do?" Dean asked, incredulous, "We were only gone a week."
"It doesn't matter," Harry replied, "At least, it's not something worth worrying about."
In truth, Harry didn't actually want to say. They'd successfully managed to keep the entire debacle quiet, and he didn't want to deal with the attention it would garner if the student body were to find out. Theo, of course, would bear the brunt of it, but if Harry could avoid any attention, then he would do it without regrets.
He wondered if it was selfish of him.
-!- -#-
Dumbledore's office hadn't changed in two months, and Harry hadn't expected it to. Fawkes was stood on his perch, any number of trinkets glimmered in the candlelight, and to his left, the sword of Godric Gryffindor gleamed in it's case. It served as an unfortunate reminder of Harry's sojourn into the Chamber of Secrets, and he looked away, mildly discomforted.
It wasn't the first time he'd come close to death, but it was the first time he'd ever witnessed an innocent approach that brink, and he never wanted to again.
"You wanted to see us, Headmaster?" Susan queried. They each eyed Dumbledore, expressions expectant. Behind him, their respective heads of house - McGonagall, Sprout, and Snape - stirred from their unmoving scrutiny, and cast their gazes towards the old man, too.
"Indeed I did, Miss Bones," Dumbledore confirmed, "I wish to speak with you all concerning your actions over the semester break."
Dumbledore studied them over his half moon spectacles, and Harry received the discomforting feeling that the aged wizard could see right through them. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was expressionless in turn, and Harry wouldn't have been able to read the man if he'd tried.
He didn't.
"What did you want to say, Professor?" Neville asked. He glared at Dumbledore, defiant. As he did, Harry decided that his fellow Gryffindor was the bravest of them all. "Because I don't intend to apologise for our actions."
Susan, bolstered by Neville's courage, nodded her agreement, and belatedly, Harry and Theo followed suit.
"I don't regret what we did," Susan opined, "We were protecting our classmates because - barring Professor Lupin - no one else bothered to."
The resentment in Susan's tone was unmistakeable, and it was apparent the Hufflepuff was still stung by Professor Sprout's casual dismissal of her concerns. Behind the headmaster, Professors Sprout and McGonagall looked away in shame.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore glanced between Harry and Theo, and queried, "Do either of you have anything to say?"
Harry glanced at Theo, who shook his head, no, and then he addressed Dumbledore, "I think Neville and Susan have said everything that matters."
Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of his face, and spent an impossibly long moment simply scrutinising them. Then he spoke, and Harry wasn't the only one to tense at his words.
"I do not condone your actions on the 2nd of April."
Outrage.
It burned through him, and indignant, burning fury that coursed through his every pore, caused his magic to thrum beneath his skin, and had his heart pounding violently in his chest.
He wasn't the only one, either.
"Not only did you knowingly endanger yourselves, but you intentionally, needlessly took a man's life…"
The lecture went on, but Harry tuned it out. He instead occupied himself with trying to calm the hell down, though he wasn't particularly successful. Eventually - blessedly - Dumbledore's lecture wound down, and Harry tuned back in to hear their punishment.
"You will each be serving detention until the end of semester. Every night, after supper, with your respective head of house. You are dismissed."
They left in silence, and Harry led the way to the classroom he and Theo used to practice with their knives. Then he locked the door, cast a silencing spell at the frame, and glanced at the others.
"What the bloody hell was that?" The unbridled rage was all consuming. "Who the hell does he think he is? If we hadn't intervened, then Dumbledore would be burying his students!"
Harry paced, his hands tangled in his hair, and certain he'd punch something if he let go.
Susan, who was red faced with her own temper, had unleashed a barrage of bombardment hexes at the disused furniture, mumbling under her breath as she pulverised the aged wood into nothing more than sawdust.
"I can't believe he just did that," Neville said, he looked it, too, as though his world had just shifted off it's axis.
Upon sight of his friend, Harry slowed down, and his temper settled into sizzling embers he could feel beneath his skin.
"I thought… I thought he'd understand. We didn't have a choice."
"There's always a choice," Theo answered bitterly, "It's just that, in this case, the other choice was reprehensible. I don't regret that I killed Greyback. I'm sorry you're in trouble for it, but if it was him, or a student, then I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"You and me both," Susan added, and with a stony expression on her face, she determined, "You know what? Bugger what he thinks. He's clearly gone senile in his old age. We didn't do anything wrong."
The others nodded their agreement, and despite himself, Harry smiled. He, too, couldn't and wouldn't bring himself to regret their choices. They may have taken a life, but if they hadn't, many more would have been hurt, or killed, or turned. As Theo had said, that alternative was reprehensible.
He wondered if Dumbledore realised it, though he wasn't about to find out. Dumbledore had just lost any respect Harry had harboured for the man, and Harry was doubtful that he'd ever be able to redeem himself.
"Where do we go from here?" He asked. "I don't know about you, but I don't really fancy two months of detention."
"Neither," Neville answered, "And i don't know about you lot, but I'm telling my grandmother. She'll pitch a fit that Greyback was able to get on the grounds at all, never mind that only one teacher was willing to do something about it."
"I'll tell Sirius," Harry contributed.
Susan nodded thoughtfully. "I'll tell my Aunt Amelia."
"And I'll tell my grandfather," Theo concluded. "In the meantime, will we be going to the detentions?"
They glanced between themselves, and each shook their heads. The answer was a firm, resounding "No."