At this point, Dumbledore's face was pale, his mouth hanging slack, along with everyone else's who stared at the two.
"You hid any traits Harry inherited from me— with spells… potions… whatever, it doesn't matter. And then after all that, after putting them in a 'safe house,' Crowley made air quotes with his fingers. "a house that was hidden from me with sigils— you chose Peter as the secret keeper." The audience gasped, enraptured with the tale, and shocked at the truth.
"That's right." Crowley addressed the audience "Peter was the secret keeper, he was the one who ran to Voldemort, not Sirius Black."
Crowley chuckled grimly while shaking an accusing finger at Dumbledore "He knew that of course, he had a spy in Voldemort's ranks, remember? He knew Peter was a traitor way before you made him secret keeper. But when it came down to it, who went to Azkaban without a damn trial?"
"I've met a lot of bad people in my business, and man you would fit right in."
"And after all that, you gave Harry to Lily's sister and her husband, where he was hidden from me again. And those damn animals treated Harry like a bloody slave, like a damn house elf." He took a steadying breath, if he continued to think about the abuse his son went through, he would not be able to control himself.
"And who did you have protecting him? No one. Who was watching him? A damn scatter-brained squib. But of course, you lied to everyone who asked 'Harry is well protected don't worry, Harry is being treated well don't worry..."
"I don't want to even start on when Harry came to Hogwarts, straight into your manipulating old hands. Leading him to the third floor corridor, letting him fight a damn basilisk alone… and that's not even all of it."
Crowley seemed to mentally shake himself "But that's not really the point. The point is, Harry is mine. And if you'd be so kind as to return him to me, I'd gladly be on my way."
Harry could only stand there on the staircase, frozen in shock.
Dumbledore starting stammering, his face turning red as he tried to get his bearings straight, making more of a fool of himself as the seconds went past. It seemed like he could find nothing to defend himself with.
Crowley checked his expensive-looking watch and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited, everyone silent around him, waiting for a reply.
"YOU WILL NOT BE TAKING HARRY!" Everyone leaned back slightly at the sudden, loud response.
Crowley tossed his arms up, as if presented with a miracle. "Finally! He speaks!" he chuckled, relaxing again as he smiled cruelly at the old man.
"You don't get it, do you? You brain-dead old coot. Lilith is dead. Killed, you see. Yesterday night. A sad, nasty business."
He smirked at Dumbledore "Which means, all of her deals, her contracts… all of it is null and void. How do you think I found Harry? Those sigils you bargained so hard for? Well they were tied to her blood, so when she died…" He let the sentence trail off. "So yes, I will be taking Harry one way or another, you have no choice in that. " Dumbledore's face went deathly pale.
"You— you can't, I refuse to let you! I am the Headmaster! No student may be removed from the grounds without my permission!" Dumbledore took his wand out and pointed it at Crowley in defiance, trying to stand as tall as he could. The dogs growled warningly at the action while the students and Professors looked to Dumbledore in horror. They all knew who would come out on top in a fight, and it would probably result in a lot of casualties.
Harry winced at the looks on the faces of the students and teachers. 'Sure, fine… let's throw Harry to the dogs, why don't we? As long as no one else is hurt... ' Harry thought spitefully but then sighed. He'd probably go along quietly anyway, after everything that he learned.
"Without the parents or guardians' permission, you mean. And didn't you just hear me? Harry is my son. You know that better than anyone." Crowley said, glaring.
"I am Harry's magical guardian! And you— you're an inhuman atrocity, have no legal right to him!"
"Magical guardian? You're joking, right? " Crowley said, now scoffing at the headmaster.
"You didn't even lay eyes on him after you dropped him off at Petunia's! And do magical guardians seal the will of the dependents parents illegally? Or steal money from their vaults?"
He scoffed "Your title as magical guardian no longer applies, and as for me not having any legal rights…" Crowley trailed off, tossing his hand up, and in a flare of magic and flame a rolled-up piece of paper, some kind of legal document, appeared in his hands.
The document enrolled itself, appearing to be around five feet in length. "Well, this little piece of paper says differently…" Crowley gave Dumbledore a shit-eating grin. "It's a transfer of guardianship, signed by Petunia Dursley, and by a certain Minister of Magic himself… 100 percent legit. Completely legal, completely indisputable. "
Dumbledore grabbed the contract with shaking hands and read it over quickly, hoping to find something that would indicate it was some sort of trick. He stared at the signatures at the bottom of the page for a moment before he looked back up to Crowley in disbelief.
"Would you like a copy?" Crowley asked sarcastically, taking pleasure from Dumbledore's dumbstruck expression.
"WHAT?! HOW?!" Dumbledore sputtered.
Crowley continued unrepentantly. "Quite easy, I made Petunia an offer she couldn't refuse… And as for the Minister, well let's just say I have friends everywhere."
A/N: Should I be making these chapters longer? Or do you like them as-is?
(V●ᴥ●V) *puppy dog eyes* review?