Chapter 37
A faint whisper penetrated Harry's sleep. Another soft voice answered the first. Harry yawned and didn't open his eyes not wanting to wake up yet. There was anticipation in the tone of the voices as Harry lay trying to shut the whispering out. Why was someone in his room anyway? He thought. He gave a great yawn again and blinked. The scene seemed wrong for some reason. Yawning once again he rubbed his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. No, that wasn't the ceiling that looked like the floor. Harry rubbed his eyes and reached out for his glasses on the night stand. After he had put his glasses on Harry focused on the ceiling. No it was the floor. What was the floor doing up there? It must be a dream. That's it. Harry thought sleepily. He wasn't really awake, just dreaming.
What was that snickering noise though? Harry thought irritably. He sat up to look and his pillow hit the floor with a soft flump. This is a really weird dream Harry considered trying to keep his pajama top down but again it bunched around his arm pits. Glancing around Harry noticed he wasn't in his own room. Then he noticed the only thing not on the floor above him (or was that below him?) was the bed and his night stand. He heard the snicker again and turned to the sound. Fred and George sat leisurely in chairs, casually sipping tea and pointing up at him.
"What?" Harry started to ask but the moment he spoke he felt himself fall. Grabbing futilely at the bedposts Harry dropped but landed softly on the mattress. The bed was back on the floor were it was supposed to be. He scrambled out of the bed to see the twins clapping.
"Good show old man." George said.
"I say." Fred nodded and primly clapped his hands in front of him.
"Okay what was that?" Harry laughed pulling his pajama top straight.
"The Bed Flop Flip." George took a clipboard from the desk and wrote a few things down. "You don't feel sleepy now do you?"
"No, that drop woke me up." Harry shook his head.
"Good point." Fred grinned. "We were afraid the drowser drool would be over powering."
"What is a drowser? I've never heard of them before." Harry looked around as if expecting to see a herd.
"A thing we had a devil of a time catching. You saw it last night, a creature that can cause sudden drowsiness." Fred pointed to the box on the other side of the room.
"We have been investigating all auto crashes caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel." George showed Harry a stack of muggle newspapers.
"We made up a story of being insurance adjusters and search the cars." Fred told him. Harry marveled at the length these two would go for a product.
"And it's a good thing there are two of us because I don't think one person could stay awake long enough to catch a drowser." George said.
"Does it have to bite you or touch you or something?" Harry asked.
"No you just have to be near it." Fred said. "George and I are pumped full of pepper up potion so it didn't affect us last night." He added, anticipating Harry's next question.
"We want to thank you for participating in our little test, Harry." George said formally.
"I feel honored to have been selected." Harry laughed.
"As well you should." Fred grinned. "But before a certain fussy mother comes looking for you, get yourself down to breakfast."
"Okay," Harry laughed again. Grinning at the twins Harry headed for his room to get dressed.
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After breakfast Harry watched a while as Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger tried to get the video player and television running again. They didn't seem to be having much luck but both were optimistic. While they worked Harry spoke to Mr. Weasley about his talk with Voldemort and the prospect of an attack on innocent people. The tall man nodded grimly.
"It is not unexpected Harry." Mr. Weasley sighed. "I know it isn't comforting or reassuring but it is you-know-whose way of causing fear and panic."
"I know." Harry felt a knot twist in his stomach. "But for us saving Remus and Snape, someone else will die."
"It isn't your fault Harry." Mr. Weasley looked at him sharply. "No one is forcing you-know-who to murder people. So don't you think for one second you have." Nodding, Harry felt a little better as he went in search of Ginny, Ron and Hermione.
The friends spent the day playing games and hanging out in the drawing room in hopes the video would be fixed. Just before dinner they all heard a loud slam coming from the kitchen. With a look of concern Mr. Weasley hurriedly led the way down to the basement.
When Harry entered the kitchen behind Ginny, he saw Mrs. Weasley with her face in her hands. Mrs. Granger sat beside her, patting her gently on the arm. Tonks had her hands on Lupin seemingly trying to get him to sit down. Pacing the kitchen Remus looked paler and angrier than Harry had ever seen him. On seeing Harry, Lupin flared.
"What were you thinking? Why didn't you tell us?" Lupin raged at him.
"Tell you what?" Harry stepped back.
"I bit Dumbledore!" Lupin growled in Harry's face.
"No! He said it was a tree branch." Harry paled. He heard a gasp from Mr. Weasley, Ron, Ginny and a soft 'oh no' from Hermione.
"We just received word from Minerva McGonagall, there was a smaller scratch." Tonks pulled at Lupin again. "It's become very infected over night and Madam Pomfrey is convinced it is a scrape from Remus."
"What does Dumbledore say?" Harry asked shakily.
"He still maintains it's a scratch from a tree limb." Tonks said. "But that is a symptom of being bitten, denial."
"If Dumbledore becomes a werewolf…" Mr. Weasley voice choked.
"So Snape can make him the wolf's bane potions and life will go on." Harry said not really believing his words himself.
"You don't understand Harry. If Dumbledore becomes a werewolf he is finished." Lupin eyes blazed. "He'll lose everything, the headmastership of Hogwarts, his position on the wizard council and the ability to influence people to help us. A werewolf is nothing in the wizarding world Harry. Worse than nothing." Lupin clenched his teeth. "My life isn't worth risking Dumbledore's life. Hell, my life isn't even worth…"
"If you say my life I'll knock you into next week…so help me." Harry interrupted stepping up to Lupin, his eyes flared too. "If we have to question the worth of every life we try to help then this war is for nothing. Is one life better than another?" He stood his ground. "If we believe that, we might as well join Voldemort and be done with it. Because that's his ideals isn't it?"
"Well said Harry." Everyone whirled around. Dumbledore stood in the kitchen doorway.
"Albus! Shouldn't you be in bed?" Molly jumped up with tears in her eyes and grabbed the headmaster's arm making him take a seat.
"I'm fine Molly." Dumbledore said. "It was as I told Harry. Madam Pomfrey finally found the sliver of wood causing the infection and healed it up in no time." In relief, Lupin slumped down in a chair with his face in his hands.
"Remus." Dumbledore said gently but Lupin did not look at him. "Harry is right you know. If we start choosing lives based on intelligence or power or some other imagined importance then we are no better than Voldemort."
"I suppose." Remus nodded then letting out a half snort. "Even so the next time you want to risk becoming a werewolf I know some that would oblige. I just don't want to be the one."
"I'll keep that in mind." Dumbledore chuckled.
"Harry," Remus stood up and faced him, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry I blew up at you. I was upset."
"I figured that." I'm just glad I didn't have to knock some sense into you." Harry gave a push to the man's shoulder.
"Oh you think you could?" Remus gave him a small shove back then grabbed Harry in a hug. "Thanks Harry. I do forget I still have friends."
"Not only friends you have family Remus." Harry corrected patting the man on the back.
"Yes," Remus glanced at the Weasleys and Grangers sheepishly as he released Harry. "I'm sorry for going off the deep end Molly, everyone." He raked a hand through his hair.
"You're allowed Remus." Mr. Weasley smiled. "But not too often, we do need a little bit of sanity in our group."
"Don't think anything of it Remus." Molly gave him a hug. "You've put up with my screeching often enough." A loud laugh rang around the kitchen but died when Mrs. Weasley glared at them.
"Now that is all settled," Dumbledore smiled and turned to Harry. "I wondered if you would mind returning to Hogwarts for just a few minutes." The way he spoke Harry knew what Dumbledore wanted.
"Sure. How? Should I turn into my phoenix form?" Harry offered.
"Oh no." Dumbledore shook his head. "You were very fortune it was Christmas Eve. Only three magical law enforcers were on duty that night." Dumbledore wagged a finger at Harry. "The three were kept busy at a party in Sussex."
"I wondered why I hadn't heard anything from the ministry." Harry said.
"We will go back by port key. You'll be back within the hour." Dumbledore rose ignoring the curious faces around them. He picked up a teacup.
"Not that one." Mrs. Weasley snatched the cup out of Dumbledore's hand then blushed as she realized how rude she had been. "It belongs to a set of my mothers. I have so little from my family." She tried to explain then handed him a pot from the stove.
"Quite understandable." Dumbledore took a pot and taped it with his wand. "Portus." The pan shimmered and glowed with a blue light before becoming still again. "Ready Harry?" Dumbledore held out the pan and Harry touched it. "One two three." With a jerk from behind his navel Harry felt himself being pulled forward with Dumbledore in a rush of color and sounds.
The headmaster's office materialized around him. Harry caught the pot before it hit the floor. "With reflexes like that we could have used Molly's cup." Dumbledore smiled slightly. "The reason I asked you here is to choose the third memory I will visit."
"I figured that." Harry nodded.
"Once school resumes I doubt if I will have time." Dumbledore unlatched the cupboard and remove the pensive. He placed the stone basin on his desk.
"Why not?" Harry walked over to the desk.
"I doubt if Professor Snape will be well enough to teach that soon." Dumbledore face looked unusually serious. "I have looked for a substitute but good potion masters are hard to come by. Therefore I must teach the potions classes until Professor Snape is able to return."
"Sounds like a lot of extra work for you." Harry said thoughtfully.
"It can't be helped." Dumbledore sighed then looked pointedly at Harry with his wand raised. Harry nodded and leaned forward a bit. For a long time Dumbledore searched Harry's mind for a promising memory to visit. Harry was just wondering if the headmaster ever intended to choose one when finally he felt the click of his thoughts leaving his mind. The silvery grey strand was added to the pensive.
"Thank you Harry. I'll send you back so you can enjoy the rest of your holiday." Dumbledore picked up a paperweight on his desk. "Portus."
Before Harry touched it he gave the wizard a sharp look. "What about Percy?"
"I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore asked.
"Percy teaching potions classes. Maybe not OWL year and above but he certainly knows enough to teach first year through fourth year." Harry explained.
Dumbledore took his time considering the suggestion then he began to nod. "You know that is an excellent idea Harry. He was quite good in potions. And…" Dumbledore's face clouded a bit but he gave Harry a slight smile. "Perhaps having a Gryffindor teaching his class will encourage Professor Snape to a quicker recovery."
"And it would help Percy too." Harry said.
"Yes, he has been a bit subdued." Dumbledore agreed. "A good plan all around, I'll return with you and ask Percy straight away."
"Like Percy would turn down a teaching potions at Hogwarts." Harry snorted as Dumbledore held out the paperweight and he placed his finger on it.
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When Dumbledore returned to his office later that evening, he felt his load considerably lightened thanks to Harry's idea. Percy had been taken completely off guard by the offer of even a substitute teaching position. And Molly had been so excited, Dumbledore thought sure she would burst with pride.
The old wizard's gaze went to the pensive on his desk he gave a sigh and walked over to it. He stared at the swirling grey substance for a moment then prodded it with his wand.
When the tumbling stopped Dumbledore blinked and looked around. There, lying on a cot under a thin sheet was a small black haired boy about five, with an eager expression on his face. The boy sat up listening. He peered through the keyhole that was the only light in the cupboard. Finally there were footsteps coming down the stairs. Dust and spiders rained down onto the boy. He brushed them away and seemed to hold his breath. Carefully five-year-old Harry opened the cupboard door. He padded down the hall to the kitchen and slowly pushed the door open. Dumbledore followed him watching. Aunt Petunia was getting breakfast but didn't say anything to the little boy who had just entered. Little Harry peered on tiptoes over the kitchen table, obviously looking for something. The little boy seemed confused. He glanced at his aunt whose back was to him and the eager look vanished from his face.
At that moment Vernon Dursley came into the kitchen carrying a hefty blond boy. "There you go Dudders. Get out of the way boy!" He growled at the little Harry who scurried to one side. Then Uncle Vernon sat Dudley on a chair then settled himself in a seat. "What do you want?" Uncle Vernon glared at little Harry.
"Where?" The boy's voice was so soft Dumbledore could barely hear it.
"Speak up or shut up boy!" His uncle demanded.
"Where are my presents?" Little Harry asked in a quivery voice.
"Presents?" Uncle Vernon sneered. "Why on earth would you be getting presents?" He disappeared behind his morning newspaper.
"It's my birthday." The little boy said a little louder. "Dudley got lots on his birthday..."
"Dudley belongs here. You on the other hand, do not." Uncle Vernon dropped his paper down to stare at the boy. "You should thank your lucky stars you have a roof over your head, boy." He snorted and pulled the paper back up. "As if he doesn't cost us enough and he wants presents." All this time Dudley made faces at Harry and anytime Harry came within reach the blond smacked or pinched him.
"Quit asking questions and sit down." Aunt Petunia barked as she put a plate of kippers on the table along with scrambled eggs and toast. Harry struggled into a chair and sat without eating for a long time. Then with a sad look on his face the little boy reached for his glass of juice and took a drink. As he went to set the glass back on the table Dudley pinched and pulled his arm and the glass fell to the floor and shattered.
"Are you all right Dudders?" Aunt Petunia shrieked and hurried over to rescue her son from the shards of glass. "You stupid boy. Go to your cupboard."
Harry shuffled out of the kitchen and back into the dark closet. To Dumbledore it seemed like hours went creeping by as he watched Harry sit on his cot and rock with a small pillow in his lap, tears rolling silently down his cheeks. Sounds swirled around the cupboard, Uncle Vernon going off to work, Aunt Petunia bustling around the house, cooing over Dudley most of the time. The smell of lunch being cooked drifted in under the door. But no one came to get little Harry.
It wasn't until dinner that Harry ventured to leave his cupboard. Dumbledore followed the boy to the kitchen as the Dursleys were sitting down to eat. Quietly little Harry got into his seat. He took bite of a roll on his plate and looked around again.
"I don't even get a birthday cake?" Dumbledore closed his eyes as he listened to the berating the boy received. When the shouting had stopped Dumbledore opened them again. Harry wasn't crying but the look on the little boy's face caused tears to form in the old wizard's eyes. He didn't know how much more of this he could stand. As the meal continued Dumbledore looked around the gleaming kitchen but a plate crashing to the floor made him whip around.
"Idiot boy?" Uncle Vernon had Harry by the arm dragging him out of the chair.
"I didn't do it Dudley did." Harry cried. Smack. His uncle struck him across the face with the back of his hand with such force little Harry fell to the floor. Dumbledore gasped appalled.
"Don't you lie to me boy!" Uncle Vernon raged. "Get to your cupboard." Harry scrambled out the door and slipped back into the cupboard under the stairs. Dumbledore sat down on the cot beside the crying little boy. He hung his head.
"Albus?" Professor McGonagall was crouching in the cupboard. "Where are we?" It took a long moment for the headmaster to answer.
"Harry's room on his fifth birthday." Dumbledore pointed to the small child crying with out making a sound.
"My word! What happened to him?" McGonagall stooped to examine a bruise on the side of the boy's face.
"His uncle struck him." Dumbledore said with such anger McGonagall stood up to look at him. She started to say something but at that moment Harry slid off the bed. Kneeling beside the cot, little Harry folded his small hands in prayer.
"Dear God,
Please, take me to heaven to be with you. The minister said you take care of little children. I wouldn't make noise or eat too much. I promise. I could be with my mum and dad. Please God. Amen."
"Oh Albus." McGonagall gasped tears streaming down her face. Dumbledore reached out a hand to lay it on the boy's head but he couldn't touch the memory, so he wiped the tears from his own eyes instead.
Suddenly the cupboard door opened. "Get out here boy. And clean up this mess you made." Uncle Vernon dragged Harry to the kitchen where Aunt Petunia gave him a mop and bucket. "Get to work." His uncle barked as they left the kitchen.
"He's barely bigger than the bucket." McGonagall had her hand to her mouth. "How do they expect a little boy like that to mop?"
Harry sank to the floor holding on to the mop handle looking utterly defeated. The pieces of broken dish had been taken away but bits of food remained on the floor. Little Harry spotted them and squirmed on to his belly and started licking the crumbs up of the shiny vinyl.
"That's the most he's had to eat all day Minerva." Dumbledore said through the tears in his eyes. "On his birthday."
"What are you doing here Albus?" McGonagall turned from the small boy to the wizard.
"It's a deal with Harry." He sat down at the kitchen table to watch the little boy and told McGonagall about the agreement. "I got to select the days. I searched his memory for good feelings." He wiped his hand across his face. The boy had gotten to his feet and put the mop in the bucket. Little Harry tried and tried but he couldn't pull the water filled mop up out of the bucket. A scared look crossed the boy's face and he kept giving the door worried glances. Then little Harry ran to the sink and opened the cupboard beneath it. The boy searched through the bottles of cleaners and pulled a couple out.
"At least he'll be able to get the floor clean with that." McGonagall said in relief but then gasped.
Harry had started to drink the cleanser; he gagged several times but kept drinking. When he finished one bottle the little boy went to the next. He had trouble opening that one so he grabbed another from the under the sink.
"What did I do to him Minerva?" Albus Dumbledore slid down to kneel on the floor beside the little boy. "No child should want to die." The memory started to fade and Dumbledore and McGonagall found themselves back in Dumbledore's office. Sinking into his chair, Dumbledore put his face in his hands and McGonagall patted his back as she wiped her own tears from her eyes.
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Author's notes: Reviews feed the writing monster inside of me! Thanks!