Fractal
Chapter Fourteen
`````````````````````````
Draco Malfoy had been taken away to Azkaban, where he would placed for the rest of his life for killing twenty Hogwarts students and using the Unforgivable Curse Aveda Kadarva...
There was a pattering of footsteps. Harry Potter ran through the halls, tears streaming through his eyes. He knew where the board of Representatives met; he had to talk to them immediately. Practically bursting through the doors, Harry came upon Dumbledore, Snape and other Ministry wizards. They all stopped their talk and looked at his haggard form and his crying, sad eyes.
"Harry, what is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore said, raising an eyebrow. Harry wiped his tears off on his Hogwarts robes, readying himself for what would happen next. He walked over to the board, at the head of the table.
"I...I can't....you....you have to know....all of you..." He whimpered, finally collapsing into a seat and slamming his head on the table, wrapping his arms around his beaten and tired body. Snape and Dumbledore just looked at each other, immediately knowing that this was of some importance.
"Take your time, Harry. Is this about Malfoy?" Snape asked, being incredibly nice and calm about the situation. Harry nodded under his arms. Dumbledore looked to the other Ministry wizards and nodded to them. Some pulled out recording devices and waited for Harry to start talking. Finally, he lifted his weak head and began to talk, his eyes red behind his black-wire glasses.
"Draco didn't kill all those students....I did." Harry whispered, nearly choking up at his own statement. Gasps were issued but no one said anything. In the world of magic you just don't assume things.
"That time the unicorn was attacked? That was me. I killed Hag-" Harry broke up at this and had to be comforted for several minutes, "I killed Hagrid." He finally said. "It was all me. Not Draco or that girl. It was all me." When no one said anything, Harry continued.
"He...he was in my head all the time, telling me what to do. I didn't want to kill anyone, I didn't..." He whimpered, grabbing the handkerchief someone had lent him and blew his nose on it. "He said that it was for my own good. That the torture was to make me understand what I was now. So that I wouldn't turn back when I was free."
Dumbledore sat back at this. Of course...the distant eyes, irregular and irrational behaviour, the forced killings...
"Harry, were you...?" Dumbledore said, leaving his sentence hanging in the air. Harry nodded, wiping his nose once more.
"Yes..." He whispered, his eyes red enough to match the Dark Lord's eyes, "I was under the Imperius curse. I remember.....everything." He whimpered, finally putting his head back on the desk and crying his eyes out. Dumbledore was immediately behind him, calming him down and rubbing his back in an assured way.
"Good boy, Harry..." Dumbledore whispered to him. "You did the right thing." Harry looked up at his Professor, a small smile taking up jerky residence on his lips for a few staggering moments.
"Yes Professor....I know." He said softly, tears leaking from his eyes. Ministry wizards got up, shutting their tapes off. Some even hurried out the door, to fix things. They had made a grave mistake, a very grave one indeed...
"Things will be put back in order." Dumbledore assured Harry as he sat down beside him, putting his arm around the whimpering boy. The white-bearded Professor looked out of the ancient gothic-style window at the shining sun and happy scenery. Birds were singing. People were happy. Harry sputtered, leaning against him and curling up in his robes, a small feral ball in a big world of dangers. Dumbledore sighed, finally feeling the relief that had been eluding him for what seemed like the longest time.
It was over. It was all finally over.
~Fin~
