Harry had eventually pulled himself over to his bed and grabbed the blanket that his uncle had left thrown on the ground. Since it already had blood on it, he supposed it didn't matter much when he draped it around his body and curled up on his old, stained mattress. He now recognized where a lot of the stains had come from and was amazed that it didn't smell worse than it did. Perhaps that was one advantage to Hedwig being the corner, closed tightly in her cage. The smell of owl droppings drowned out stale blood rather well. She watched him with her wide eyes, blinking soulfully at him.
He was just drifting off into an uneasy sleep when he heard a commotion downstairs. It started with banging on the front door, but there was a loud slam as the door was forced open and tons of voices quickly after that. He recognized his uncle who was thundering out in alarm and his aunt who was shrieking in a pitch meant for dogwhistles.
But then he picked up the rest of the voices in quick succession. The first was loud and in charge, Mrs. Weasley. Low and menacing was Professor Lupin. Angry but with terse professionalism was Mr. Weasley. Then crisp and stern was Professor McGonagall. With all of them talking it was impossible to determine what exactly they were saying.
He sat up in his bed and drew the blanket more firmly around his body. His eyes darted around the room. What should he do? Clean up? Get dressed? Go downstairs? His body moved in slow, jerking movements as different parts flared in pain. His decision was made when the conversation downstairs was too brief for him to do anything else. He heard several sets of feet come up the stairs as they continued to talk. He was now able to make out a few sentences.
"No, it's out of the question," said Aunt Petunia.
"Get OUT! Now!" came Uncle Vernon's boom.
"Just let us see him," said Lupin. His words were reasonable but the tone was low and growly.
"We're taking him. Right now. Step aside!" Mrs. Weasley spat.
"If you resist you won't be happy with what comes next," said McGonagall.
Then his room door opened and all the adults were there in the frame. His Aunt and Uncle were almost impossible to see around the sides of the witches and wizards, but their continued irate voices made their presence known. The rest of them were silent. The lights were on in his room. He knew they had no problem seeing him fully in all his bloodied glory. He knew he had blood smeared all over him. The blanket was still wrapped around him, though, so the worst injury they could see was his face.
"Hi," Harry said. He wasn't sure what to do. So he waited for them to tell him. For a moment they all just stared at him with faces akin to the pain he felt in his body. While most looked him over and looked around the room, Mrs. Weasley simply met his eyes and after a brief shake of her head as if to clear it, her expression grew warm. Harry couldn't help but give a small smile of relief at it.
"Harry, dear boy. Let's get you out of here, okay? Are all your things in here?" she said. She was able to hold herself together and get down to business in a way the other adults seemed helpless to. But her words shook them out of their stupor.
McGonagall and Lupin turned about to face down the Dursleys. Wands were out and he watched as his aunt and uncle were backed out of his view. He wasn't sure what they were in for, but he knew he wouldn't want to be in their shoes right now. No one ever wanted to be on the wrong end of the wand to an angry werewolf and the most formidable Hogwarts professor barring Dumbledore.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley meanwhile gathered his things quickly. They shrunk some as he watched and Mr. Weasley let Hedwig out his window with instructions to go to Grimmauld Place. With everything gathered, Mrs. Weasley turned to him and carefully sat next to him on the bed.
"Harry, dear, are you okay to walk?" She asked as a gentle hand reached out to his swollen and bruised face.
He thought about it for a moment and he wasn't sure how far he would make it. He knew that moving around a bit seemed to make him dizzy and his head pound. But he really didn't want to be carried out. "I think I can, ma'am." He swallowed and allowed himself to lean his head into her hand slightly. "Am I really leaving?" He couldn't help but ask. It seemed a bit too good to be true at that moment.
With his simple question, it seemed a small crack appeared in Mrs. Weasley's calm demeanor. She shuddered a moment and before she could speak, Mr. Weasley spoke instead. "Yes, Harry. There's no way that we would leave you here another moment."
Together the two of them helped Harry to stand. As he expected, the floor seemed to shift under his feet and the room tilted slightly before he as able to gain his balance. But after a moment to catch his breath they slowly made their way out of his room and down the hall. Behind them, they could hear McGonagall and Lupin speaking in hushed tones and Harry was sure he heard the zinging sound of some spells being used. He didn't know if they were simply altering memories or what, but at that moment he didn't really care. He'd find out later.
As they went to pass Dudley's door the rotund teen appeared within a small crack. He didn't say a word as they led Harry past, simply briefly meeting Harry's eyes before looking away and closing the door. Harry could have been imagining it, but under all the fear in those eyes, he thought he saw some regret.
He walked very gingerly down the stairs and pulled the blanket a bit tighter around himself. He was starting to get lightheaded and wasn't sure how much further he could walk, so he gripped the banister in white knuckles.
It turned out the limit was just on the other side of the front door. There, on the stoop, he started to collapse. His knees gave out and before they could slam into the concrete he felt Mr. Weasley sweep an arm along his side and pull him upright and flush to the older wizard's body. He tried to start to drag Harry, but suddenly Lupin was there in prime form, merely a couple of days before the full moon. Together they were easily able to hold him between them and swiftly carry him to the edge of the wards. Some careful jostling around had Harry fully in Lupin's arms. He was still somewhat upright and fortunately not being carried like a bride across the threshold. This put pressure on Harry's back and he couldn't help but gasp out in pain.
Harry hadn't ever apparated before and it was far from a pleasurable experience. With the world already spinning around him as it was, the added sensation had him quickly bending over to the side of Lupin and coughing up his empty stomach. His face flared brightly in pain and his jaw felt like it was about to fall clear off. The bitter bile made him lick his lips as he stood straighter and realized they were in the back garden of Grimmauld Place. Lupin simply continued to hold him and hushed to him like he was a frightened dog.
Out of the back doors came a flood of people. It seemed several order members were present along with Ron, Ginny, and the twins. In the back with a troubled expression stood the headmaster. As the man got a good look at Harry his face turned into true grief. Harry turned his face into Lupin's chest and tried to pretend there weren't so many people there witnessing him in his condition.
Before he could process much more he realized that at the front of the group was Madame Pomfrey who directed Lupin inside. Everyone stayed quiet as Harry was led in and set onto the sofa. It was weird and he kind of wanted to scream or cry or laugh just to break the odd silence. Once he was seated he pulled the blanket around himself tighter and looked around with apprehension. He really didn't want everyone present to see everything underneath. Madame Pomfrey mercifully realized this and cleared the room of most everyone. Remaining was Ron, Lupin, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He supposed those left would learn soon enough and so he didn't put up a protest.
Madame Pomfrey proceeded to cast a few charms at him, he supposed she was running some diagnostics. She pursed her lips and shook her head a little, then called Dumbledore closer.
"I need to know exactly what you want from this. I can heal him easily enough and quickly, but what kind of documentation do we want?" she asked in a hushed tone, but with no one else in the room talking they all heard her clearly.
He watched as Dumbledore seemed to think very hard. Finally, he sighed and said, "We…we shouldn't remove the chance of evidence when we have it. What do you need?"
Pomfrey nodded and remained professional, "A camera, parchment, and a legal recording quill." He nodded and left through the fireplace. Harry wanted to pull the blanket completely over himself. Evidence? A camera? Was he okay with this?
There was a short delay where Ron sat next to him and took his hand gingerly and Mrs. Weasley took up his other side. They treated him as glass which he supposed was wise. He was glad she wasn't holding him too close and getting herself covered in his blood. Lupin already had enough of it on his shirt.
Dumbledore stepped back through the fireplace and handed over the requested items. Madame Pomfrey set up the parchment on the table and spoke aloud to the quill.
"Exam of Harry James Potter, record date and time." Harry watched as the quill scratched it's way across the parchment. It wrote down the date and time in military format. The mediwitch then turned and looked at him. "Patient is 15 years old and male. Heart rate is slightly elevated, respiratory rate is normal. Patient has some moderate dehydration and borderline extreme blood loss. On his face, he has generous swelling and bruising around both eyes." Her hands delicately fingered along his jaw. "Jaw is fractured. Open up, dear. " It took him a moment to realize that was a request of him and he winced as he followed the order. "I'm sorry, I know it hurts. Two, no scratch that. Three teeth are loose. Lip is split and bleeding freely. Nose is broken." She performed another spell. "He is suffering from a moderate concussion." Harry hadn't realized how many times his uncle had socked him in the face. It had to have been a lot to cause that amount of damage. No wonder everyone was looking at him like he was about to keel over.
"Okay, dear. Let's take the blanket off," she said sweetly. She had to know that underneath would be more. Harry let the blanket drop down around him, exposing his bare torso. Madame Pomfrey was in front of him and so naturally didn't see the belting damage. But he realized that Lupin and McGonagall must have been standing behind him as he heard identical gasps. "Can you sit sideways on the couch?" Madame Pomfrey asked with a slightly shaking voice. She was afraid of what she was going to see, but surely it couldn't be that bad. He remembered much worse beatings in his past which he had obviously survived just fine.
He turned sideways and she was able to get a clear view after adjusting her seat a little. He now had Ron directly to his back and Mrs. Weasley was in front of him, clasping both his hands. He knew Ron had seen his scars before and he really didn't want Mrs. Weasley to start crying, so he had turned that direction on purpose. Ron sucked in a breath and failed to hide back a little sob. He heard Madame Pomfrey groan a little. If it got that kind of reaction out of the normally stoic mediwitch, it must have looked nasty. "Multiple lacerations along back with extensive bruising, open and bleeding freely. Estimated to be approximately twenty open and bleeding wounds." Harry knew there had been more strikes, but he supposed not all of them had drawn blood. "What caused this, Harry?"
"A belt," he responded in a small, raspy voice.
"Patient has claimed that the cause of the lacerations was a belt," there was a pause as she performed another spell. "There are no broken bones and no impacted internal organs. Thank Morganna for that. Is there anything else we should know about, Harry? Anything perhaps covered by your pants?" He greatly appreciated that she didn't have him fully undress. He shook his head. "Patient has shaken his head no. As evidence creates plausible concern for physical abuse I will now perform a medical history spell. Details will be inscribed and included in the final report." She then waved her wand in a complicated series of movements which created a very odd-looking glow. The quill on the parchment continued to scribe away but fortunately, nothing was said aloud. As he sat there letting the spell work he was fascinated to watch as different colored glows would arrive and dissipate over his body in different areas. Some were red, others blue and then others yellow. It took him a while to realize that like his dreams, these glows were creating a history of his physical health.
Everything was getting recorded. From blue light which ignited his whole right arm which probably indicated the missing bones from second year to a very frequent yellow pulse over his abdomen. He realized that the red ended up showing up every time had had a significant injury from someone else hitting or harming him. The writing scars on his hand glowed red as did every other scar that was still covered by his magic. He allowed himself to speculate that perhaps the yellow indicated times when he was left without food. He grew concerned when a new color, purple, showed up on his thighs where he had scratched himself during his molestation.
Throughout the whole ordeal, Ron and Mrs. Weasley remained fastidiously at his sides. Madame Pomfrey looked frequently back and forth between him and the parchment, taking mental note of things that he supposed required more attention. The whole thing ended when a bright red pulse encompassed his whole body before it briefly turned an alarming shade of green. After that, it was finished. "That would be the killing curse, dear. I'll have that scratched from the final record in order to maintain your anonymity. We won't submit any of this if we decide not to press any charges. If we do decide to, please know that it will all be kept strictly confidential and sealed as you are a minor." She then took out the camera and took a few pictures, moving fast and only briefly asking Harry to raise his arms or turn his head. "Now let's get you patched up, yes? There are a few things we'll have to address from past instances, but right now we need to focus on the present injuries."
She then gave him several vials of potion in quick succession and waved her wand several times with murmurs of general healing charms and an "episky" for his nose. He wondered to himself if he would have any new scars added underneath his subconscious magic. After everything was healed he felt down the side of his face and was pleased that he couldn't feel the scar on his cheek. So it was safe to assume the scars from his past were still hidden. Of course, Madame Pomfrey had the full comprehensive record of every injury on the parchment that was now rolled up on the table.
Throughout it all everyone else remained in the room and quiet. He realized about halfway through that Mrs. Weasley wasn't looking at him. Instead, she was glaring harsh daggers at the headmaster. He kind of felt sorry for the old wizard. Harry knew that he hadn't really known. No one had. Not even Harry himself.
He took a deep breath and looked around at everyone after it was all over. He gave them all a smile and said in a voice that only cracked slightly, "Thank you." Mrs. Weasley finally gave him the huge hug he knew she had been holding back. He clung right back to her and buried his face into her shirt that smelled of shepherd's pie. After she sat back and patted his cheeks she started to open her mouth, no doubt to console him. But he didn't want soft words at that moment. He just wanted to eat a little something and get to bed. "Do you have any food? I'm famished," he said before she could speak.
Predictably she gave him a wide grin and bustled up immediately, "Of course, dear! Let's get you filled up and off to bed. Ronald, would you please head upstairs to your room and make sure the other bed is prepared?" Ron nodded and headed out after giving Harry a little pat on his knee. Mr. Weasley followed his wife into the kitchen, no doubt to speak with her about things.
Lupin came and sat in the space now empty at his side. "Harry, I won't go into details right now, but I want you to understand that you have lots of people here under this roof who will make sure you never see hide nor hair of those people again. You are never going back, okay? We….we failed you." Harry was slightly alarmed to see tears start to run down the werewolf's face. "I failed you. James and Lily and even Sirius will no doubt haunt me for years to come. I'm so sorry. So very sorry."
Harry stopped him from babbling on by reaching out with soft hands and taking the man into a small hug. "Don't blame yourself, Professor. Please, don't. No one knew, not even me."
Dumbledore stepped forward at that and interrupted the moment, earning himself harsh glances from both female staff members. "Harry, I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean, you didn't know?"
Harry pulled back from Lupin and held his hands clasped in front of him to keep from fidgeting too much, "Well, that's the thing. So remember at school this year how everyone was doing that spell that showed magical scores?" He waited until he saw the headmaster nod. "Well go ahead and perform the spell on me, sir."
The old wizard smiled and drew his wand, "With pleasure, my boy. I've been itching to do it on someone, myself. Such a fun little charm!" He waved the wand at Harry. "Planimus Magicae."
As he could have predicted the number 698 floated into light about his head. The adults all looked pleased but then the expressions turned to baffled when it was followed by shimmering numbers that read 845.
"Truly intriguing," Dumbledore said as he stroked his beard.
"Hermione thought so too," Harry said with a fond smile. Dumbledore chuckled in appreciation of the brainy Gryffindor. "She took it as a challenge and started trying to find the answer. Turned out, only one other person had two numbers. Snape."
"That's Professor Snape, Mr. Potter," McGonagall admonished. Harry gave a small eye-roll in response.
"Yes, of course. She eventually figured out that the thing that was causing his two numbers and mine was Voldemort's effect on us. His dark mark and my scar." He saw all the adults look impressed at the teens for figuring out such a thing. They also looked confused about what this all meant about Harry's past abuse. "So she altered the spell to show when dark magic is present. This time Snape had 2 numbers, one in red. And I had three numbers, one in red and another one that was just slightly less than my highest number. So, once again, Hermione worked to find out why. There was no stopping her. Mental." This time it was Lupin that chuckled.
"In the meanwhile, I was having these weird flashbacks and random scars were appearing and disappearing all over my body. Professor McGonagall, Madame Pomfrey, do you remember the scar from Umbridge's blood quill?"
The two witches nodded. "Yes, Mr. Potter. Which, now that I know more about your past, I realize why you never told anyone about the detentions back when they happened. Rest assured, that woman got what was coming to her." Harry grinned at his head of house. He knew she was pleased with how things had eventually ended with the defense professor.
"Right, well, that was the first one. It seemed like that was a catalyst or something. I didn't intend to cover it up, my magic did it on its own. After that, it was like I went back through my life, remembering all the shit that had happened."
Mrs. Weasley had just stepped back into the room with a bowl of steaming shepherd's pie and she tutted at his language but no one said anything. Apparently, after you have been through what he had, he had earned a right to use whatever language best fit the circumstances. "So eventually Hermione figured it out. It was my subconscious magic that was covering up the scars and hiding the memories. She performed a charm to reveal them all, just before the OWLs. All the scars showed up and the memories were all back." Harry shuddered. "It….well let's just say it sucked. I asked her to put back, and she did. The scars were hidden again, but the memories were still all there. I guess I couldn't forget it all a second time or something."
Dumbledore hummed quietly to himself and sat back. "I have heard of subconscious magic doing some pretty remarkable things, but never something that lasted for so long. Usually, it's in short bursts, like accidental magic. Yours appears to maintain itself constantly, even while you sleep or are knocked unconscious. Truly fascinating. Would you mind if I see it at work?"
Harry bit his lip for a moment but then decided that it was all basically out of the bag at anyways. So he shrugged. Dumbledore raised his wand once more and said the spell Harry remembered Hermione using before. "Altum Animo Stabit."
Harry once again didn't feel any different, but he knew it had worked when he saw everyone's eyes grow wide. Harry had forgotten that he still didn't have a shirt on. While the blanket was pulled a bit haphazardly back around him, there were still plenty of scars along his body that were visible. He pulled the blanket a bit tighter around himself and looked down. He caught out of the corner of his eye Madame Pomfrey consulting the medical history report. It seemed she was trying to link the scars with the listed injuries. Mrs. Weasley was shaking next to him and he knew she was trying to keep in her crying. No one said anything for a brief moment, then Dumbledore said in a sorrow-filled voice, "Patitur Altum Animo," and the scars disappeared again.
"My boy, please know that Remus was right. You will never be going back to those people. What exactly did you do to them anyways, Remus? Minerva?"
Both the adults flushed at his inquiry and eventually McGonagall said, "Suffice to say, Albus, we did a small part in helping them see the errors in their ways. They might find it difficult to sit for a while."
Lupin chuckled a little and got a little marauder gleam in his eye. He leaned towards Harry and whispered, "I might have given them screaming butt boils." Harry grinned proudly. "But you should have seen her, Harry. Minerva was in true form. She transfigured your aunt into a purple spotted giraffe and your uncle into an incredibly rotund donkey. My screaming boils were just icing on the cake." Harry's jaw dropped as he looked back to his head of house who had an evil gleam in her eye as she gave him a wink. Dumbledore appeared to be pretending to not have heard a thing.