As stated before this containers bashing of Weasleys and Dumbledore.

All mistakes are my own.

Elements of Betrayal

Harry and Remus didn't talk while they ate; both too lost in their own thoughts. Harry still couldn't believe that he was being punished for saving his cousin's soul, saving his life. Why hadn't Dumbledore helped? What was going to happen now? Why were some of his natural talents bound? Who bound them? What was going on?

Most of all, Harry wondered where Sirius was. If Remus was there, he thought Sirius should be there too. The only problem was, he was too afraid to ask the werewolf. What if Sirius didn't fear the same things Remus did? What if Sirius wanted to trust Dumbledore after he refused to help Harry? Who would he side with?

"Sorry for the wait, Mister Potter, Mister Lupin," Master Brayclaw said as he stepped into the room. "I wanted to have all the facts before I presented my findings."

"That's alright," Harry said while putting down his fork. He wasn't sure how long he had been holding the empty fork in his hand. "I think having all the facts for once would be a nice change of pace."

If the Goblin was surprised by the hidden malice in the boy's voice, he didn't show it. "Well, what I have uncovered is distressing to say the least. I have no idea how things were allowed to progress the way they did." He sat heavily at the other end of the table. "Rest assured, there will be punishment delivered to the offending parties."

Harry nodded with a groan. "I have a feeling I am not going to like this."

"No, I don't think either of you will like this." He placed numerous files on the table. "I suppose I will start with the good news as it will take less time. The Potter family is an old family and they have a number of vaults available to them. Most of the vaults are sealed and cannot be accessed directly until you turn twenty." He pulled three sheets from one file. "There is an heirlooms vault, the main vault and an investment vault. The investment vault monetary value does fluctuate depending on the market as trends change, it holds contracts and self-updating ledgers that detail all investments. I was left with instructions to periodically change investments or invest certain amounts if they fit into certain parameters. This vault has made a considerable amount of money over the last decade or so. The heirlooms vault is simply that. Inside there are numerous things that were either deemed too valuable to keep out or did not fit in any other storage. This is an itemized list of what is in the vault at this time and the vault has not been opened since before your grandfather's death. Your mother also had a personal vault that she insisted that you be given access to at sixteen."

The Goblin handed the list to Harry who glanced at it before laying it on the table. He would peruse that when he had more time.

"This is the total held in the main Potter monetary vault. It is lower than I would have thought and that is because of how it was set up, but that does not mean you will hurt for money. There was a flaw in the set-up of your trust vault; well, it is only a flaw if certain conditions are met and unfortunately, they were. Your magical guardian, or the man claiming the title since your godfather's incarceration, has been manipulating the conditions of your care." The Goblin pulled out another sheet of parchment and slid it over to Harry. "That is the contract signed for your trust vault. What it says is that your trust vault should be used for your care and schooling. There is a set maximum for the vault and it will refill to the maximum on your birthday every year. That maximum was scheduled to increase as you aged and increases would be approved depending on inflation. The older you became the greater your expenses were expected to be. Your magical guardian has been draining your trust vault to nearly empty throughout the year, each and every year since the death of your parents. Normally, this would not be possible, a trust vault holder should not be able to drain the account without making numerous major purchases. Major transactions require the approval of a magical guardian. Somehow, the position of your magical guardian was transferred from the appointed one, Sirius Black, to another, Albus Dumbledore." The goblin growled, "One of my assistants pushed the paperwork through on this as it was filed here but the form did not cross my desk. We are currently tracking the original and will take appropriate action against this fraudulent activity within our staff. I would not have signed off on a change of magical guardian, but even if I did, I would have monitored much more closely."

Harry bit his lip to keep himself from screaming. Dumbledore had been stealing from him? "Was the money taken from the account used for my care?" He asked despite his doubts. Perhaps the Dursleys were the ones stealing from him. It would certainly hurt less.

"We can find no indication that it was, outside the automatic withdrawals sent directly to Hogwarts before the beginning of the school year the last four years."

"Was any money given to Vernon or Petunia Dursley?"

"No, I looked into that after discovering who you were placed with. There was no money transferred from any Gringotts vault to any bank account in the name of either Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley or Petunia Evans. There have been no transfers of any kind from your vault to any muggle bank accounts." The Goblin looked down at yet another sheet of parchment, "I have found a number of transfers to vaults within Gringotts. Substantial amounts were transferred to the accounts of various organizations and individuals with connections to Albus Dumbledore. The largest totals were transferred to the Order of the Phoenix, Molly Weasley, Severus Snape, Ronald Weasley and Ginevra Weasley. You have also been periodically paying the rent for the Hogshead, a business owned by Aberforth Dumbledore and for Arabella Figg's house. Other recipients include Mundungus Fletcher, Elphias Dodge, and Dedalus Dingle. There are a few more but they did not receive as much and each only received a single transfer. We have already been able to return those funds in their entirety to your family accounts. Each account holder will be questioned and the answers to those questions will determine what actions Gringotts will take against these offenders."

Harry gulped, "Only Molly, Ron and Ginny Weasley? None of the other Weasleys?"

"Money was transferred to three separate vaults controlled by Weasleys. Each of those vaults is only accessible by one individual. I have the head of the Curse Breaking Department questioning his employee, a man by the name of William Weasley. If William Weasley knowingly took money from you, he will be fired and will serve time in the dragon pens for fraud, theft and breach of contract. As it is, I have drained what money I could from each vault and placed it back in your vault. Nothing was spent from the vault held by Ginevra Weasley and most of the money was still in the vault held by Molly. Ronald Weasley, however, goes through much of his vault over the summer months, and rarely leaves more than a handful of Sickles and Knuts in it. The same can be said for the Order of the Phoenix. Severus Snape has not spent a Knut from his vault, so I do not know if he is aware, he holds the vault. His regular account manager had no knowledge of it at least." He took a breath and reached for the goblet by his elbow. After taking a sip he continued, "It has been decided that Molly and Ronald Weasley at least will no longer be allowed to enter Gringotts. The rest of the Weasley family will be questioned and their access determined by their knowledge and acceptance of these atrocities. Severus Snape will be similarly questioned."

"Can I have a full copy of the list of recipients?"

"Of course, Mister Potter." Brayclaw snapped his fingers and a copy of the sheet appeared in front of Harry.

Harry looked down and skimmed the list quickly, searching for names he hoped he could still trust. He was both relieved and scared to find Hermione's name was not on the list of recipients. It could mean one of two things; either she was never offered money, or she refused to take it when offered. No, there were other ways to pay people off. Would Hermione have accepted rare books instead of money? Is there something else she would have requested of Dumbledore?

"Remus," Harry's voice shook, "what does this mean? Who can I trust?"

The older man sighed. "I don't think we can trust anyone, Harry. Far too many people put nearly all of their faith and trust in Dumbledore. The fact that Dumbledore seems to be the main instigator in this is disturbing. He is the one who manipulated everything so that you would be placed with the Dursleys. He is the one who made himself your magical guardian and took your money, distributing it where he saw fit. He was the one with the responsibility and power to demand that Sirius had a trial back then and he could request one now, yet he did nothing and still ignores the problem. I can't trust Dumbledore because of what he did to you, so I don't think I can trust anyone here in Britain." Remus rubbed his temples, "Wizards fall almost perfectly into two camps, those who follow Dumbledore and those who follow the Dark Lord; neither camp is your friend. The number of families that remain neutral are too few, too secretive and too cautious to be of any use to us."

"So, what do we do?"

"We leave."

Harry closed his eyes; he had been afraid of that. "Where do we go?"

"Your best options are outside Europe." Brayclaw spoke calmly. "Many European nations feel much the same as British wizards about many things. Dumbledore is infallible, people like mister Lupin do not deserve rights for they are dangerous animals no matter what time of the month it is." He scowled and shook his head at the idiocy of that idea. Werewolves were only dangerous when under the influence of the full moon. It was that prejudice that created angry dissidents like Greyback. "Do you speak any other languages, Mister Potter?"

Harry shook his head in the negative, he assumed Parseltongue wouldn't count and honestly, he didn't really think he could say he spoke it if he couldn't tell when he was using it. "No, I don't. I suppose I could learn another language, but I don't think that would be particularly helpful to us in the immediate future."

"While learning additional languages is useful and a sign of intelligence, you are correct that it would be of no help now. Your best options are in America, Canada, or Australia. They are large, English-speaking countries that aren't necessarily blinded by the myth of Albus Dumbledore."

"Will I be able to go to school in any of those countries? Will I be able to study magic?"

The Goblin studied the boy, "Did you perform magic in front of a non-magical person who was not aware of the existence of magic?"

"No, my cousin has seen magic before and knows about Hogwarts. I do live with him after all. Well, did live with him."

"Did you perform magic for a justifiable reason?"

"Yes. If I didn't then the Dementors would have taken Dudley's soul and probably would have gotten mine too."

"If that is the case, then yes, you should be able to continue your schooling. Your safest bet is most likely America. Both Australia and Canada were English territories for a long time and magical pockets of those countries still function that way half the time. The United States of America has always been home to those escaping the tyranny of British rule even when it was considered a British colony. There was even a school opened by an Irish woman trying to escape her British family and their incredibly dark reputation. The Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is similar to Hogwarts as its founder had heard stories of the much older school, but still different because of its beginning. Something additionally important to consider is that Americans are more tolerant of human hybrids like mister Lupin. As long as those that are dangerous take precautions, they are left alone."

"What do you think, Remus?"

"That would have been my suggestion. America is the only place that I could guarantee that I would be able to be your parental figure. The other places I considered still hold prejudice toward those like me that could lead to a chance they would refuse me becoming your guardian no matter what precautions I took. It doesn't happen as often as it used to but you are famous, so a refusal is more likely in our case than any other."

"I don't want to be famous." The fact he was exasperated him; especially when circumstances changed because of his fame.

"I know, Harry and we can try to hide it, but we have to plan for when it does come out. These kinds of things are bound to eventually." Remus brushed at Harry's bangs, revealing his trademark scar, "This is rather noticeable."

Harry nodded grudgingly, "You're right, and I have horrible luck so it would be stupid to think I could hide who I am forever or even for a week. What do we do first?"

"Can you help us find accommodations in America, Master Brayclaw?" Remus asked.

"I can. Would you prefer a wizarding or non-magical community?"

"Magical, or a combination of the two," Harry put forth his opinion. "I think it would be easier for Remus that way."

"Would you like help finding a job overseas?"

"I would. I have masteries in Defense and Ancient Runes. I enjoyed teaching but do have a talent for crafting. I will write up a resume. If at all possible, I would like to live close to the school so that I can be there for Harry."

"Very well, I will have one of my staff look into this and will present you with the best options. I should have a small list available for you to review the day after tomorrow."

"There is one other thing," Remus started. "I would like your healers to perform a full health evaluation on Harry. I don't think he is entirely healthy and would like to start counteracting any problems now, before it is too late."

Master Brayclaw nodded and stood. "A fine idea. Please follow me, I will lead you to the Healers Hall and we can begin immediately."

…

Hearing a Goblin swear in the Goblin tongue was even more terrifying than one could imagine. A healer swearing angrily while breaking his worktable with his bare hands was even worse. When that same healer then sends out some kind of alarm that shut the bank down, locking in every single person and Goblin, fear becomes an old friend.

"What is going on, Master Brayclaw?" Harry asked his account manager as armed guards poured into the room one after another.

The account manager had managed to hold his reaction to merely snarling. "We have found something in your scar that should not exist. There are certain things that are forbidden by the old laws, laws agreed upon by all the sentient races, because of how utterly vial they are. Many wizards have forgotten the old laws but Goblins have not."

Harry gulped back the bile rising in his throat, "Am I in trouble?"

"No, Mister Potter, you are not. We can tell that this forbidden magic is nearly as old as you are. It has been present within you for nearly fourteen years. It was the responsibility of the one who found you and placed you in your aunt's care to see to your health. Albus Dumbledore did not do this. He would know what was placed within your scar. Albus Dumbledore is now an enemy of the Goblin race because he has broken the accords; he has broken the most sacred of the old laws."

"What does that mean for Harry?" Remus was panicking but trying not to show it. He had studied the old laws. He had spent a great deal of time researching the most forbidden magics for his mastery because every Defense Master worth their salt should be able to identify such things. He was more frightened in that moment than he had ever been in his life.

"Gringotts will remove the darkness from him and search for any other abominations. Once you are cleansed of the darkness, you will be free to go and I will help you leave. Gringotts is now, and will remain, at war with the one who created this evil. He is both your enemy and our enemy."

Harry rubbed his scar with a frown. It was easy to guess who was responsible for the darkness in his scar. "When can it be removed? I really don't want something that murderer created in my head any longer."

Brayclaw nodded, "I will be speaking to our ritual specialists as soon as I finish with you here. They may be able to perform the cleansing ritual today, which would be preferred all around. If not, they will perform the ritual tomorrow. We do not allow these abominations to exist. That does mean that you will not be able to leave until this is rectified."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Remus asked. He hoped that was the worst of it.

The healer, who had allowed the Account Manager to explain previously, stepped forward, "First off, Mister Potter is smaller than he should be due to malnutrition. I can reverse some of this with a potions regimen as well as a strict diet. If he wishes to reach his full physical potential, he would need to perform familial rituals, which are banned by the British Ministry." He paused, allowing them to absorb his findings. "The only other oddity is his eyes. It is my belief that your poor sight is, in part, caused by the darkness in your scar. It is also affected by severe head trauma that was sustained when you were around five years of age. I believe I can correct your vision. It would just require the removal of the darkness and some delicate healing of the damaged area. Finally, there are several bindings on Mister Potter's magic. Some of his abilities are bound, which I believe Master Brayclaw has already informed you of. There is also a binding on his magical core. This binding makes it so that he is only able to access a fraction of his magical strength."

"I would really like to not need glasses," Harry breathed. He hated his glasses for numerous reasons, the most prominent being that they broke often. The fact that they could do so much for him was overwhelming and that was the one thing he could focus on.

"Then we will attempt to fully correct your sight after the cleansing ritual." He turned and waved his hand at an assistant. "As for your physical health, you will need to take these three potions daily. I will have a dietary plan written up for you shortly as well. Once you find your next place of residence, I suggest you seek out a healer and have them evaluate you and your progress. When you leave, I will give you copies of your scans after the cleansing and my health plan."

"Thank you, Healer Dravor," Remus took the potions. "I will ensure he receives his potions and we will look into a healer as soon as we are settled."

"Master Brayclaw," Harry spoke to his account manager when the healer turned to start writing out his plans, "will all of the bindings on me be removed?"

"Yes, if you wish, all bindings will be removed. I will need to speak to the ritual specialists about which order we should do the removing as I don't know what would be best to correct first. They may wish to remove the bindings on your core before performing the cleansing ritual, so you have more magic at your disposal. They could also request to perform the cleansing ritual first so that the darkness has less magic to attempt to leech off of. We will do everything in the safest manner possible."

"You would be among the first to think if my safety, Healer Dravor, Manager Brayclaw."

The sad thing was, he wasn't kidding, so few people had ever really thought about making him truly safe.

…

Harry and Remus stumbled out of the Floo into Grimmauld Place nearly sixty hours after Harry's farce of a trial. The entry room was utterly empty but it wouldn't be for long. The Floos activation had alerted the residents of the dank town house to the arrival of someone authorized to access the house.

It started with the thundering sound of feet on old creaky stairs. Shortly after, Walburga Black, in her grimy picture, made her displeasure with the world known; screaming about blood-traitors and mudbloods sullying her great house. Had they not been so disturbed by the events of the last few days, Harry and Remus would have laughed at hearing Sirius screaming at his 'beloved' mother.

Within moments the room was flooded with people vying for attention and answers. The only problem was Harry wanted nothing to do with any of them and Remus was reserving judgment on some until he had spoken to them.

"Harry!" Hermione cried out as she pushed through the sea of redheads. "Are you alright? I can't believe they didn't find you innocent. How could they do that? What did Dumbledore say? Where have you been? Did they snap your wand like Mister Weasley said they had? What are you going to do now? What are you going to do about school? Oh, Harry."

Instead of answering, Harry shoved his way through the crowd of liars and thieves, dodging Hermione's attempt to hug him, and headed to the stairs. He had some packing to do; he would not be staying in Britain for much longer.

"Remus?" Sirius asked, coming up to place a hand on his oldest friend's shoulder after having Harry dodge him. The look of disgust and barely contained rage on Harry's face scared him. Both looks had crossed James's face toward the end of his short life, but he had never seen them on Harry's face; at least not that pronounced.

Remus could not keep the scowl from his face as he scanned the room. "Why is it that I was the only one there when the Ministry dumped Harry on the sidewalk outside the Leaky Cauldron?" He saw shame cross a grand total of three faces. "Why is it no one came looking in the last sixty odd hours?" More shame, but a few faces fell into disgust. "Some of you," his gaze traveled over Ronald, Ginerva and Molly, "have lost my respect and the right to even speak to Harry."

Molly opened her mouth, "Why…"

Remus flicked his wand and silenced her, his anger adding power to the spell. "You are very near the top of that list; your youngest son and daughter are right there with you. I will be speaking with the rest of your brood. None of you will approach Harry until I clear it." His attention shifted to Arthur, "I hope you live up to your eldest son's expectations."

"What is going on, Moony?"

Remus studied his friend with a critical eye, "Is everyone in this room, save Harry?"

Sirius looked around the room, noting all faces before answering, "Yes."

"Seal it. No one leaves until I am finished speaking." Remus spoke so quietly Sirius struggled to hear the words and he was standing right in front of him. "I would also like Dumbledore to be barred from the house."

"I can't…"

"You can," Remus growled at his friend, his wolf was very close to the surface despite how far away the full moon was. "You are the master of this house, not Albus Dumbledore. You are a Black, not Dumbledore's servant. Start acting like you have a mind of your own. Where is my rebellious friend who ran away from home at sixteen? Where is the man who broke out of Azkaban for Harry? The one who lived in a cave for months to be near a boy who didn't know him? I need that Sirius." Remus looked him up and down, "If you can't be that Sirius, I really don't have any use for you and I will keep you from Harry."

The Grim animagus blinked. It had been a long time since Remus had spoken to him like that. The thing about Remus was that while he was slow to anger, his anger was the most volatile of their group, the most feared. Remus would do everything he said in anger down to the last detail if you crossed him. Sirius remembered the consequences of the Snape incident from all those years ago and knew that this was even more serious for his friend. Blacks weren't meant to be stupid, and he wasn't about to start now. Not listening to Remus when he was like this was the definition of stupid.

"Consider it done." He waved his wand, summoning the ward book and adding Albus Dumbledore to the list of enemies. Then he waved his wand in a pattern known only to him, muttering the words of his family to alter the house's systems. "The only person free to move about the house is Harry and Dumbledore is now exiled from this and every other Black property."

Remus surveyed the room, cataloging expressions and scents. He was faced with fear, anger, concern and in the case of one angry young redhead, disgust. "What I say now is the truth in every way, backed by records from an impeccable source. I will be asking you all to explain a few things to me and if you lie to me, I will know. When I am focused, I can hear, smell, taste and feel lies and right now I am more focused than I have ever been in my life." The werewolf paused to let that sink in and to further gauge his audience. Now a few smelled of worry, of self-preservation. "I am already well aware of what some of you have done, while others remain a mystery to me. There are a select few that are dead to Harry and I, no amount of pleading will change that; your crimes have been laid before us and we will not be swayed. As for the rest of you, your words, actions and sincerity will determine if I will allow you to see my cub again or if I will be breaking his heart all over again."

"Moony," Sirius's voice shook and held none of the brash confidence he used to hide his insecurities. "What has happened? What could have caused you and Harry to feel this way? Who hurt Harry?"

"First off," Remus said without answering his school friend. "You will not speak unless I give you leave to. It is my turn to talk and Harry's turn to be heard. I ask the questions and you answer only what I ask of you." His eyes flashed gold, an indication that the wolf was close to the surface. "If you lie to me, I will be most unhappy. Am I understood?"

There were some nods while others chose not to respond. It didn't matter, he was prepared to silence offenders, or if they angered him too much, he would have Sirius eject them from the house.

"Albus Dumbledore cannot be trusted and Harry and I will never again see the man if we can help it."

A statement like that was always going to cause a reaction. The fact that the reaction was noisy pleased the angry wolf and allowed him to silence more than half the room. He did take note that Hermione, Shack, the twins and Sirius held their tongues. He did not care for the cries of outrage and would not tolerate anyone defending the traitorous man.

"I took Harry to Gringotts after his expulsion from the British magical world. An expulsion that happened in a trial in front of most of the Wizengamot instead of a meeting in front of the head of the Miss-Use of Magic office like it should have been. A trial that Harry was not allowed to speak at and no one came to his defense." He raised his hand to quiet the objections, he was unsure if any who would have objected retained the use of their voice but did not take the chance. "If you do not believe me, just ask Shack, he was present and was one of a handful that showed any indication that they were outraged by the proceedings.

"Now, where was I? Oh, that's right, I took Harry to Gringotts where he met his account manager for the first time, despite the fact that they should have met on his first trip to Gringotts when he was eleven."

"What?" Sirius sounded outraged. He did manage to stop himself from saying anything further and did look apologetic so Remus let the outburst slide, this time at least.

"Harry and I learned a great deal from that meeting, most of which I will not be sharing with anyone I deem unworthy. What I will share with you all is that Albus Bloody Dumbledore sealed the Potter Wills and appointed himself as Harry's magical guardian. In his role as guardian, Dumbledore proceeded to disobey the strict instructions of the Wills particularly in terms of Harry's placement as the Wills said that under no circumstance was Harry ever to be placed with his muggle aunt. In addition to this horrendous act, he used his elevated status to access Harry's trust vault. He drained the trust vault each and every year; those funds were in no way used for Harry's upbringing." The outrage was good, disgust was also appreciated. It was the guilty shifting of eyes and twitchiness that brought his anger to the boiling point. "The Potter's have been funding a lot of things that were not Potter related. Did you know the Order of the Phoenix is being funded almost entirely by Harry Potter's trust vault?

"Harry also pays rent for the Hog's Head and Arabella Figg's mortgage at least a few times a year," he made eye contact with Arthur Weasley, then shifted his eyes to the scowling Ronald Weasley. "The worst of it is the last bit. Did Albus Dumbledore pay you to be Harry's friend?"

"How dare you, Remus Lupin!" Molly shouted. Someone had canceled the silencing spells placed on her. "Ronald would never…"

"Then would you care to explain the vault in his name that has received a deposit of 100 Galleons a year since their first year he then spends the vast majority of while on summer break from school? Before that he received fifty a year starting when he was eight, before he met Harry." Remus smirked in a most Slytherin fashion, "Would you care to explain the vault in your name that also receives a deposit from Harry's trust vault annually, this deposit valuing 250 Galleons? Or your daughter's vault? 100 Galleons for her as well."

There were many facial expressions around the room, it was gratifying to see disgust. Hermione Granger's angry tears, directed almost entirely at Ronald, were promising as well. "My first question is for Arthur Weasley, no one else will speak. Arthur, your eldest has already been cleared and says that he will not speak to anyone in the family who had anything to do with this. Your son is lucky that he had no knowledge of these atrocities for he would have died working in the dragon pens had he known." He let that sink in, "I ask you now and hope that your son is correct, did you know about this and did Dumbledore offer you money for anything?"

Arthur Weasley was white as a sheet and shaking badly. "I didn't ask."

"Excuse me?"

Arthur looked Remus in the eyes, "I didn't ask where the money came from. I have seven children; I work a great deal, but we are short often. Molly always seemed to come up with just enough to get us through until we had enough again. I didn't ask because I assumed she had to grovel to Muriel and I didn't want her to have to admit to it because it would embarrass us both." He shook his head in self-loathing, "when she started buying things we didn't need I should have known something wasn't right. I can't believe I didn't ask."

Remus shook his head in disappointment. The cowed man was a disgrace and didn't deserve his pity. "And you?" he asked the twins next.

George was the first to speak, "The only money we took from Harry was the money he offered a few weeks ago at the end of the tournament. He didn't want the prize money for winning the tournament. He said the thought of taking it when Cedric just died was more than he could take and the Diggorys wouldn't take it so we should."

"He said that with Voldemort back that the world would need something to laugh at," Fred sounded devastated.

"We don't take charity." The clarity in George's voice was refreshing. "We discussed it and decided that Harry would be our silent business partner and that when we started making a profit, we would be putting aside at least ten percent for Harry. If we can manage it, we want to give him twenty eventually."

"We made him a silent partner so that no one would come to us because of the Boy-Who-Lived tripe but because they liked our products."

"Thank you, Fred and George Weasley." Remus could sense, in every way, that those two at least were entirely in Harry's corner. And then there was Ron, "What did Dumbledore ask of you in exchange for an orphan's money?"

Ron had the audacity to smirk, "I got everything I wanted. I got power, and money and all I had to do was hang out with Potter and make sure he only made the 'right' friends. It was boring and dangerous work, let me tell you. Dumbledore was a bit disappointed when I couldn't get rid of the beaver but he did give me the raise I asked for after the Troll despite the unfortunate tag-along as a result of the danger."

All eyes turned to Sirius when Ron fell to the ground unconscious. Sirius's arm was raised, wand pointed at the space Ron used to occupy. "I couldn't take that bloody, irritating mouth of his anymore. I mean really, I didn't think kids could be that selfish. Ronald Weasley will remain unconscious as long as he is here, and once he leaves this property, he, like Dumbles, will not be welcome in any property owned by House Black. Be aware, that does mean a few properties in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade."

Remus nodded to his friend in appreciation. "Molly?"

She huffed in a very haughty fashion, "He needed a mother, didn't he? I think it is perfectly acceptable to take a bit of money when you are caring for an additional child."

"I am sure, if you would have asked, that Harry would have agreed with you," Sirius said with barely suppressed rage. "He would have offered to pay for any additional financial hardship he caused because he is a good kid but you didn't even ask."

"The problem with your argument," Remus said quietly, "is that you started taking money from Harry's trust vault only months after James and Lily died. You didn't start caring for Harry until the summer of 1992."

Hermione hiccupped, her eyes bloodshot. Her hands were gripped into tight fists at her side and she was shaking with rage and anguish. "Why Ginny? How could you?" It appeared she could no longer wait for an answer.

Ginny grinned, "I get to marry Harry Potter! Dumbledore said I could, just like I've dreamed all my life. The money is because I would be sacrificing my youth because I need to be pregnant before he leaves school so before my sixth year is over. I don't really need the money because I get to be Mrs. Harry Potter and that will make me part of the elite and I can go to all the important parties. I don't mind having a baby early if I get everything else, but we are only having one."

There was utter silence at the delusional glee pouring from the young girl's mouth.

The roar of "LINE THEFT!" broke that silence and all eyes flew to Arthur Weasley. He was enraged, his hands shaking in fury as he rounded on his wife and youngest children. Despite his obvious anger, Ginny looked bewildered by his anger. It appeared the young lady did not understand the consequences of her actions. "I authorize the return of all funds that remain in those vaults if they have not already been emptied and returned. Ron and Molly will also work to replace that which they have already spent. Furthermore, House Weasley is from this point forward in service to House Potter."

"All three accounts have already been drained and closed." Remus said simply. "William Weasley, as I said, has been cleared and demanded that he be allowed to help pay back Harry because he knew you did not have the money to do so and he did not wish for Harry to be slighted for longer than necessary. William also insisted on having his brother Charlie questioned. Charlie arrived promptly, proved his own innocence and, like his elder brother, insists on helping pay for the dishonor shown to Harry. They have set up a payment plan with Gringotts, Bill and Charlie will not be responsible for paying for the interest that will incur while your family struggles to pay for this, once the original amount has been paid, Harry will no longer take money from them." He turned his attention to the twins, "Bill planned to approach you if you proved to be as oblivious as he was. The deal will apply to you as well if you choose to aid in attempting to save your family's honor."

"What can I do to make this up to Harry?" Arthur pleaded.

"That I do not know. Harry is devastated right now and honestly does not know who to trust. He will be glad to know that his instincts about the twins were correct though;" he glanced at the duo, "he thought there was no way you would have been involved after the fight you put up about the tournament winnings."

"Know this, Remus," Arthur said with more backbone than anyone thought possible, "I will be speaking to all of my children about this and some of them will not be allowed to speak. Bill and I will be deciding on punishments for these three, with input from Charlie and the twins. If you would like additional punishment, I will add those as well. I am at your mercy."

Sirius, who had been surprisingly quiet during this, stepped forward and grabbed the visibly drained man by the robes. "You have three days to set your affairs in order and come up with an acceptable plan. If you are late, I will mete out punishment for all but your eldest children and the twins; no one will like what I will rain down on you." He paused for a moment and then looked at Arthur's daughter, "I think that one could use a mind healer, I don't know if that is really her or not but Harry said she was possessed; maybe that killed her common sense."

Arthur nodded simply, there was nothing else he could do. "Three days is more than we will need and I think appointments with mind healers are in order for all three of them. If you will allow it, I would like to take Molly and my youngest home with me now so that they no longer sully you all with their presence. I would request that the twins be allowed to pack all our things, checking to make sure that these three have not squirreled away anything that does not belong to them."

"The twins are welcome here as far as I am concerned," Sirius nodded, "they may come and go as they please. I will have to supervise the packing for form's sake."

Again, the Weasley patriarch nodded before turning to his wife and daughter and ushered them toward the Floo.

"But I don't want to go, daddy," she whined, "what if Harry needs me?"

"You have said and done more than enough, young lady. I doubt Harry will ever want to see you again and he certainly does not need you. All Harry needs right now is Remus." He levitated Ron to his side, "Floo home now, Ginny." He glared at his wife as the young girl stepped through the Floo, pouting as she did. Molly huffed but stepped through without a word. "There are not enough words to explain my horror and regret that my family has done this to Harry," the two of them Flooed out of Grimmauld Place together.

After a moment, Remus turned to the man cowering in the corner, "Mundungus Fletcher, I do not need to ask you to know that you took the money for dubious reasons and didn't care who it came from."

"You are barred from all Black properties," Sirius added. "But you will not be allowed to leave until you are searched, and it has to be determined that you have not taken anything that does not belong to you. If you have taken something and already sold it, you will work to return those items or face the ministry."

"You will never again approach Harry Potter and are no longer welcome at any Potter property. It is highly likely that you will be receiving word that your vault has been seized and closed due to theft from the Potter Heir."

Sirius waved his wand, binding the man and moving him to a chair where he attempted to protest but could not due to Remus silencing him.

"Severus Snape," Remus said as neutrally as possible. "Gringotts found a vault in your name that was opened on November 2nd, 1981. This vault has been filled entirely by transfers from Harry Potter's trust vault. There have been no withdrawals from this account. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I have no need to steal from a child," he said in disgust. "I had no knowledge of that account and thought I only had one, the one I opened for myself when I was eleven and would take Veritaserum to prove it or allow myself to be questioned by the goblins. As I am not a bloody moron, I know that the vault has already been drained and returned or I would demand it immediately." He took a breath to calm himself, "If I could ask one thing," Remus nodded, "how bad was it?"

"Pardon?" Sirius asked, confused.

"I knew Petunia Evans better than any of you, so I know her feelings about magic and the way she treated Lily when we were children. How bad was it for him living in a house that loathed magic?"

Remus smiled ruefully, "Harry reminds me a bit of you when you were a student, actually. I don't think he is a stranger to being punished for accidental magic. There are signs of malnutrition and many injuries."

Severus closed his eyes but did not let any emotion cross his face. "Albus Dumbledore is guilty of altering my perceptions as well. I don't know what you did, Black, but when you barred Dumbledore from the house a binding on my memories was broken and my own observations were returned to me. I have been questioning the placement of Harry Potter for years, citing his size, awkwardness and my own memories of Petunia Evans. He acts very much like a child raised in an abusive home." He shook his head, "We can discuss all I have been made aware of after you finish dealing with the betrayals."

Remus nodded, "Moody?"

The grizzled Auror sighed, "I didn't know but I should have. I have known Albus for a long time and should have seen the signs. I wonder who else he has done this to over the years?"

"What will you do?" Sirius wondered.

"I am going to watch him much more closely from now on." He turned to Shack, "you and Tonks need to leave the order. Give Amelia as your reason; she isn't happy about a number of things Dumbledore has done, not helping Harry being the most recent which you know because you were the one to bring it to her attention. If she did find out, you would be in very hot water. You can even say she threatened to fire you if he tries to argue, at which point you have the very valid reason that you can't lose your job, especially when he can't steal from anyone else to continue your salary." He turned his attention back to Remus, "I assume he is no longer welcome inside Gringotts?"

Remus nodded.

"Who else?" the scared man asked with complete faith that Dumbledore had drained other accounts in the past.

Remus waved his wand and a sheet of parchment flew from his pocket and enlarged. He passed it to Moody.

He swore violently under his breath. "How much?" A second enlarged sheet caused him to shoot a blasting hex at a particularly horrendous painting hanging on the wall near the Floo. "He is going to get himself placed in the dragon pens, that is if they don't behead him on sight."

"They want him to suffer," Remus smiled with malice, "it's the dragons for the old coot. They beheaded the goblin who assisted him and displayed his head in the entry to their living quarters though."

Kingsley stepped forward. "Let Harry know that I did look for him. I knew you had gone to the Leaky Cauldron and were waiting just in case but I chose not to follow Dawlish so I could update Amelia immediately." He let out a long breath. "I was lucky to make it to the hearing at all. One of the newer recruits made a comment about being called as added security to the emergency session, assuming I was already on the detail. I forced my way in and nearly had to stun some of my men in the process. It helps that I out rank all of them despite Fudge's attempts to rule the department.

"Even with my revulsion at the illegality of the trial, I had to let it continue so that it was as damaging as possible and so that my position wasn't damaged any more than it already was. We can only do so much without the backing of government leaders and there are just too many in the department who can be swayed by money. As it is, Rufus hasn't said anything despite being head Auror because he is just waiting for Fudge to be removed from office so he can run for Minister using his law first stance as a running platform." His irritation at the situation was apparent. "I did send Tonks to the Leaky Cauldron with instructions to make sure you were not disturbed if you did go into Diagon Alley. She tailed you to the bank and managed to get her account manager to hint that an important client was in a meeting. She also saw the Goblin get removed from his desk as it is just down from her account managers."

Kingsley shook his head in amusement, "Tonks really does need to work on subtlety because her manager copped to her attempts to get information. The only reason she wasn't still waiting at the bank for the both of you was because he finally just told her that certain clients were allowed to Floo from Gringotts, particularly when the government was performing illegal acts against those clients."

"Thank you, Kingsley," Remus nodded.

Hermione couldn't hold her tongue anymore, "I didn't know." Her slight body shook with ragged sobs as tears streamed down her face. "I would never…" She hiccupped, "Harry was my first friend. Who would ever do something like this? How could they do something like this to Harry of all people?" She turned her pleading eyes to Remus, "Hasn't he suffered enough? Can't this all just be a dream? Can I wake up now and go back to before the trial?"

She collapsed in a heap on the floor, her legs no longer able to support her, as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Fred crouched down next to her and patted her head awkwardly; George sat on the floor and rubbed her back, making soothing noises.

"What will you do now?" Moody asked Remus as the teens attempted to get their emotions under control.

"The only thing I can do, protect Harry."

….

Harry sat on the bed in the room his stuff had been put in; he was actually quite thankful that it had been moved from the room he had shared with Ron for one night. He never wanted to see the redhead again, which wouldn't be a problem seeing as he was no longer able to study magic at Hogwarts. The first thing he had done was go through his trunk to see what, if anything, was missing. Not surprisingly, there were actually quite a few things missing from his trunk.

The angry former Gryffindor had stomped off to the room Ron's things were in and tore through the messy boy's things looking for his missing things. Ron had taken it upon himself to commandeer the Marauder's map. On top of that, Ron had nearly emptied what little money Harry kept in his money pouch, leaving Harry with a single Galleon, four Sickles and a handful of Knuts, a far cry less than he had before he left for the ministry. There were other odds and ends that Harry had thought he had lost over the years squirreled away in Ron's trunk. Worst of all, Harry had found his invisibility cloak under Ronald's mattress. Why was it that Ron thought he needed more when Harry had grown up with nothing? All Harry had ever wanted was what Ron had, a loving family and the boy only wanted what Harry had gotten through loss. Money for the price of his family; Harry thought the choice was obvious, it seemed Ronald disagreed.

When there was a knock at the door, he almost told whoever it was to shove off but decided against it. Whomever it was would either be Remus or have Remus's blessing to approach him. "It's unlocked," he said with little enthusiasm.

The door opened slowly and Fred stuck his head in, "Sorry to bother you, Harry, we just wanted to say that we had nothing to do with it, any of it and that we are sorry."

George pushed the door open farther, "We also thought we would let you know that we plan on going through everyone's things and return anything that belongs to you. That is if you haven't already found everything," his eyes locked on the pile of things at the foot of Harry's bed.

"Thanks, guys. It is actually a relief to know I wasn't wrong about everyone. Having Ron betray me is hard to swallow, I thought I was a better judge of character than that."

"You weren't wrong about Hermione either," George said, supporting the still crying girl as she stumbled trying to walk.

Harry jumped to his feet seeing the red, swollen eyes and tear tracks down his best friend's face. He rushed to her side and helped the redhead walk her to the bed. The green-eyed boy wrapped the girl in his arms as she continued to cry.

"She just broke toward the end of it," Fred said, petting her hair.

"Dad had just left, escorting the family members who have no honor, and she just broke. Hermione wanted to know why and how someone could do this," George put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "She said you had been through enough and we couldn't agree more."

"We don't know what you are going to do about all of this," Fred started but was unable to finish with the tears he had been suppressing building up on him.

"But always remember the Weasley Twins have your back."

Harry met Fred and George's gaze, "That is four Weasley's that have promised their support today." He too was having trouble with tears, "Thank you. You, Bill, and Charlie have always been honest and it helps that I wasn't wrong about all of the Weasley family."

Hermione started mumbling into his shoulder, but between her sobs and his shoulder, he couldn't understand her. Harry looked at the twins, "Are you leaving?"

They both nodded, "The House of Weasley has a lot to discuss. We were asked to pack everything and return anything that didn't belong to the family and then to head home."

"Can we talk before you go? Right now, I need to talk to Hermione."

"Sirius and Remus said we could stay the night, how about we come see you in the morning before we leave?" George smiled while pushing his brother out of the room.

Harry pushed Hermione back slightly, so that he could see her face, "Do you want to repeat that, I don't think I caught any of it."

"How could they do it?" she sobbed. "Not only is it wrong but to do that to someone who only wanted friends and family. What have you ever done to anyone? What right did they have to play around with your life and emotions like that?" Hermione was starting to sound angry, something Harry was actually glad for. "Dumbledore is just lucky he didn't offer me any money. I would have hexed him right then and there. Oh, and when I get my hands on Ronald and Ginevra, they will be sorry to have ever met either of us. Molly better stay well away from me too. She is the one who raised those awful, spoiled children. Who trains their daughter to expect to marry someone they have never met? For that matter, who allows a man who runs a school to pay their daughter to essentially be a baby farm?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You didn't know?" Hermione laughed humorlessly, "Ginny 'fangirl' Weasley wants to be Mrs. Ginny Potter, wife of the oh so famous Harry Potter. Dumbledore insisted that she must be pregnant before you leave school so he paid her for her loss of youth. She didn't mind, you see, because she would be someone important and could go to all the posh parties as your wife. Everyone would have to fawn over her because she would just be the luckiest girl in the world. She says there would only be one child, which I am sure she wouldn't want to raise but would have someone else do the hard part while she partied. Ugh," she groaned, "she is just sick."

"That is just gross. You do realize that Ginny looks remarkably like my mum, don't you? Plus, she is my best friend's…" he paused and shook his head, "no former best friend's, little sister. You can't date the little sister; it is against the guy code."

"Ron would have just asked for a raise because you ignored the 'guy code.'" She muttered darkly. "Now that you mention it, that is rather disturbing, she actually styles her hair just like your mum too. Someone probably even brought up how much you two resemble your parents and wouldn't it be cute to recreate their wedding photo or something."

"That is just weird and creepy."

"Yes, it is." She sat down next to Harry. "What are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were unjustly expelled and your wand snapped. Can you even continue school? Do you think you could go to Beauxbatons? Will they sell you another wand in another country?"

"Beauxbatons would be hard for me as I don't speak French. My account manager suggested Ilvermorny, in America because they are English speaking and America is typically less influenced by Britain." He sighed, "As for my wand, they would sell me one in America because I had a good excuse for performing magic in front of a muggle and that muggle was well aware of magic, but it isn't necessary." He pulled his wand from his sleeve, "Remus switched my wand with one he found here at Grimmauld. Apparently, he found a Holly wand and they either didn't notice it wasn't a Phoenix feather core or because I signed it in when we checked in, they didn't know it wasn't the wand sold to me."

"I love Remus."

"Yeah," Harry grinned, "he is one of my favorite people too."

"So, you're moving to America?" she asked after a minute.

"It looks like it. My account manager is looking for housing and helping Remus search for a job. He even mentioned transferring to the American branch so he could continue to oversee the Potter Accounts properly."

"Why would he do that?"

"Apparently, the Potter holdings are among the largest in the country, which makes it one of the largest in the world strictly because of how old it is, and as such, Master Brayclaw has very few responsibilities outside of dealing with my ancestral finances. The few things he does outside monitoring the family investments can be divided among the apprentices or given to other account managers."

"Wow. That is dedication." She scrunched up her nose in thought, "Is Sirius going with you?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know. That depends on whatever he and Remus discuss. Remus won't offer unless Sirius proves himself to be more concerned with me than whatever Dumbledore has been having him do."

"He put himself firmly in your corner when Remus was questioning everyone downstairs. I don't know who was more furious with Ginevra's tale, Sirius or Arthur. Sirius actually stunned Ronald because he was so disgusted with his rant."

"That does make me feel better."

"Harry?" Hermione yawned.

"Yes, Hermione?"

"I'm rather tired but I don't want to leave you alone right now."

"What are you asking, Hermione?"

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight? I don't want anything other than to be close to my only friend right now."

In response, Harry leaned back so he was laying down on the bed properly and patted the spot beside him. One of the best parts of the new room was the bigger bed. This room sported a single king-sized bed as opposed to a few twin beds.

"Could I borrow something more comfortable?"

Harry grinned and grabbed her his largest non-Dudley t-shirt, he could have done the quidditch jersey thing but they weren't that comfortable and he wasn't sure he wanted anyone to make jokes about girlfriends, especially if he was leaving in under a week. He did like Hermione; he just wasn't going to think about that while his future was in limbo. "I'll just change in the bathroom, alright?"

When Harry returned, the stuff was cleared off his bed and Hermione was under the covers, her nose in one of his school books. He knew she wasn't actually reading it as it was upside down as though she had grabbed it and opened it when she heard the door open.

"You do know that the potions book you are reading is upside-down, right?" Harry smirked.

Hermione lowered the book, blushing, "I'm nervous. I've never slept in the same bed as a boy before and I don't want anyone to think anything untoward about this and when I am nervous, I hide behind books, in this case, literally."

Harry climbed under the covers himself, turning off the lights with the flick of his wrist. "You don't need to be nervous, I'm just Harry."

She snorted, knowing Harry had said it to get her to realize she was being silly. A moment later she rested her head on his shoulder, "What am I going to do without you?"

"Get your homework done on time without having to badger anyone."

"There is that."

"Plus, I doubt you will find yourself in a situation where you almost die."

"Highly likely."

"Write really long letters about how things are going to a friend across the pond."

"That goes without saying." She took a deep breath, "Can I come visit you over the winter holiday?"

"I might not let you leave if you do."

"I think I'm going to cry again."

Harry took a deep, shuddering breath, "I think I am too. The thought of leaving my best friend behind, leaving you behind, hurts more than the fact that Ron was never really my friend."

"I don't want you to go."

"I wish I didn't have to. I wish I could take you with me. I wish our world was different. I wish this entire week was a dream. Maybe if I close my eyes, it will all just go away and the world will make sense again."

"I wish for all of that too, Harry."

Harry couldn't say how long it took him to fall asleep. He knew Hermione fell into unconsciousness before he did and she did so fairly quickly; perhaps the emotional upheaval of the day had exhausted her. His mind raced as sleep fought him; running from what he had learned and what they were still waiting to discover. His final thought before his mind eventually shut down was that Hermione would demand a full explanation in the morning and for once, he didn't mind sharing everything.