I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters or anything else from the books.
The plot and the new characters are mine.
CHAPTER TWO: Damage Control
"Harry, I can help you where others have failed. However, you will have to give me the opportunity to prove myself to you. Let us go up to your room and I will explain what I would like to teach you and how," Pan said as he respectfully bowed to Harry.
Harry stood, bowed in return, and met Pan's eyes.
The look of utter defeat in the young man's eyes cut Pan to his soul.
"Let us get to know each other," Pan said, holding his hand out to Harry.
Harry took the offered hand and allowed his new friend to lead him upstairs.
Pan and Harry entered Harry's room and sat down on the bed.
"Harry, I would like to experience what you have gone through, so that I can better understand what has happened to you," Pan began.
"You want to get into my mind."
"Yes, but only if you are willing. At the same time I will allow you into my mind. You will be able to see my memories just as I will see yours."
"Is this like Occlumency?" Harry asked.
"Yes, it is. But for this exercise we will not be trying to keep each other out of our minds. By doing this we will be able to learn about each other faster."
"I don't know about this. I had trouble keeping Snape out of my head. I only succeeded once and got into his mind. He didn't like it but he had no qualms about digging around in my mind," Harry replied.
"My I inquire as to how Professor Snape went about teaching you?"
"He just told me to clear my mind and before I could do anything he was in my head. And all he did was yell at me."
"I believe that Professor Snape has some things to answer for. You see, Occlumency is internationally regulated. I happen to be on the regulatory committee. We will have to investigate this matter. However to do that, you will have to allow me into your mind. I give you my word as a wizard and Shoalin Priest that what I see in your mind will not be shared with anyone without your consent and without you being there," Pan replied.
"I don't have a choice, do I?"
"You always have a choice, Harry. People have just not given you the information that they should have. If you do not wish to continue this, we will not. However, the consequences will not be pleasant for you. Professor Snape's anger during your lessons could cause you permanent damage. Did you happen to discuss your Occlumency lessons with Professor Dumbledore?"
Harry shock his head, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"I thought not. If you had, Professor Snape would no longer be allowed near you. Do you wish to share what happened with me or would you rather just talk?"
"What kind of damage?" Harry mumbled, wiping his face on his sleeve.
"Nightmares, mood swings, black outs, memory loss, seizures, and lose of magic ability to name the most common."
"Merlin! What did that bastard do to me? How can Dumbledore trust him?"
"Albus trusts him with many things, however, he never should have trusted him with you. Have you made your decision?"
"Yes. Go ahead and enter my mind. Can you undo what Snape did?"
"Yes, but it may take time. I must first discover what was done and teach you to defend yourself. We will not even accomplish all of that this evening. Therefore, I will shield your mind with my own. It will mean that we will be connected, but I can not leave you undefended. Will you except this or do we not proceed?"
"If I don't want what he did to me to effect the rest of my life I have to except what you must do," Harry sobbed.
"Yes, and it is not right that you must suffer through what has been forced upon you. I and my friends will do everything that we can to correct what has been done to you. Are you ready to began?"
Harry nodded.
"Very well. The first thing you must do is to find your center. To do this you must still yourself, by clearing your mind. Listen to my voice and picture a white wall surrounding you," Pan instructed.
**********
"They've been up there for hours," Remus said as he circle the table for the tenth time.
"They have a lot to discuss. Thank you, Tom. We will make this up to you," Albus said as the owner of The Leaky Cauldron placed a fresh pot of tea on the table.
Tom smiled and nodded in reply.
"When do you expect Professor Snape to wake up?" Bill asked.
"Any time now. I do not relish the mood he will be in," Albus replied.
"THE MOOD HE"LL BE IN! Harry has never attacked anyone until today. What did that git do to Harry?" Remus growled.
"I did nothing to that spoiled brat. He did it to himself. He refused to apply himself to the lessons," Snape snarled as he stumbled down the stairs.
"I no longer care that he is the one destined to defeat Voldemort. I want him expelled for this. Send him somewhere else to learn what he must. I will not tolerate his presence ever again."
"Than you had best resign your position at Hogwarts, Snape." Pan's cold, flat voice echoed through the tavern.
"What are you talking about? I am NOT resigning anything," Snape growled.
"You are a despicable person, sir and what you did to Harry is deplorable. Do you know who I am?"
"No and I do not care."
"You will. I am the Senior Chinese Member of the Occlumency Regulator Commission. Your methods of teaching Occlumency are disgraceful and repugnant. How you could do such a thing to anyone, let alone a child and one that is already traumatized it unbelievable," Pan continued.
"So, Potter has you fooled as well as everyone else," Professor Snape sneered.
"On the contrary, my dear Professor Snape, Harry has no secrets from me. You see, he agreed to allow me to enter his mind. How you could use your hatred of his father to fuel your attempts to enter the boy's mind is disgusting."
"I did no such. . . ."
"Ah, but you did and you knew what you where doing as well. I saw what Harry did not when you entered his mind. I suggest that you leave now and re-examine what you did to the boy upstairs. The commission will be in touch with you within a fortnight. And do not try to contact Mr. Potter or approach him until the commission has reached a decision. The consequences of doing so will be quite severe."
"Albus,"
"Severus, I suggest that you leave now. Mr. Ying is not a person that you wish to trifle with. Here is your wand," Albus replied, tossing Snape his wand.
Professor Snape stormed out of the tavern, the door banging closed.
"Pan, I see that Harry allowed you to enter his mind," Albus said, breaking the silence that filled the room after the potions master's departure.
"Yes, Albus, he did, thankfully. He is a very troubled young man. I can not allow him to ever return to the Dursleys' home. A large part of his problem is the verbal abuse he has suffered at their hands. Albus, Harry has been all but broken. The necklace came very close to causing Harry to completely collapse. At this moment he and I are connected so that I can defend his mind against intrusion and monitor him. Bill, do you remember how to contact my monastery in China?"
"Yes. What should I tell them?"
"Ask them to put together a round the clock guard detail and come as quickly as possible. Harry can not be left alone until I can finish repairing what Professor Snape's lessons have done."
Bill left to full fill his friend's request.
"What precisely happened, Pan?" Albus asked.
"It amounts to mental rape, Albus, nothing less. Professor Snape failed to give Harry time to learn to calm himself and he used his hatred of Harry's father to breach the pitiful defenses that he gave the boy time to build. Not once did he allow Harry to collect himself before attempting to enter his student's mind. His disrespect for Harry and his general attitude gave Harry no incentive to learn. All Harry could think of when he tried to calm himself was the arrogant sneer on Professor Snape's face."
"Albus, what are you going to do?" Arthur asked.
"It is out of my hands, Arthur. Although I also am a senior member of the commission, Pan spoke of, I will not be allowed to sit in judgement of Severus, because I am the one who asked him to teach Harry. I expect to be questioned before the commission contacts Severus."
"You are correct Albus. I however will not be asking the questions. In this case I believe the senior German member will be coming to question you."
"Ah, Ernst. It will be nice to see him even though the circumstances are quite serious."
"How is Harry doing?" Remus asked.
"Better. He is sleeping peacefully at the moment. Albus, placing him with the Dursleys has also effected Harry's magic. The protection he gained from his mother never reached a level compatible with any of the other protections that were put into place. It was a useless gesture. The Dursleys undermined the foundation of love that was the basis for that protection. The only reason Harry was never attacked at the Dursleys' is because everyone believed he was protected. Voldemort knows the truth now. He saw it in Harry's mind. The Dursleys will not survive the summer without being relocated."
"I will attend to that," Albus replied, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Did you know this, Albus?" Remus asked.
"I had my suspicions and hopes. I had hoped that the Dursleys would show at least some kind of affection to and for Harry."
"Albus, how many second chances are you willing to risk Harry's life to give someone. The instant you learned of Harry being trapped in his room, you should have realized that the protections were all but non-existent."
"I did. However, I was hoping to allow Harry the small amount of protection he could still gleam from his relatives. There is none now."
"Wrong, Albus. Remember, I am the one who has spent the last hundred years researching all forms of protections. Any family willing to take on the burden of raising and protecting Harry would have provided the power to maintain the protection Lily's sacrifice imbedded in Harry. It may be impossible to restore that protection now."
"But Voldemort told Harry that by using his blood he has gotten around that protection," Arthur interjected.
"Now we come to another point. How, if Lily's protection burned Quirrell, was Voldemort able to survive having Harry's blood added to the spell to restore him. The answer is that the residue power from Lily's sacrifice was drained off during Harry's first year. Everything requires energy of one sort or another to function. There was almost nothing left to protect Harry when Pettigrew restored his master. If, the protections had been at full strength, Voldemort would have found himself burning from the inside out. This only came into play with this spell because Lily gave her life to protect Harry. Few people have enemies that they have tried and failed to kill, because of a sacrifice like the one Lily made for Harry."
"How do you know that?" Remus asked.
"There are several instances in ancient Chinese manuscripts. I have personally seen one such instance. I have also seen the bond strengthened to an unbelievable level by the love of an unrelated person, the best friend of the person who sacrificed themself to protect their loved one."
"Has Harry eaten?" Bill asked as he returned and sat at the table.
"Yes. We shared some tea and sandwiches before he fell asleep," Pan replied.
"Pan, your friends will be arriving tomorrow morning by floo powder," Bill added.
"Thank you, Bill."
"Arthur can you find a place for the Dursleys to stay while I fetch them?" Dumbledore asked.
"Of course, Albus. Bill will you be coming with me or going home?" Arthur asked.
"I think I'll stay here with Pan. Professor, will you be sending some of our friends to help protect Harry?"
"Yes, Remus will be staying as well, I believe."
"Of course I'm staying, Albus," Remus answered.
"Thank you. Pan, do you think it would help Harry if he and I talk tomorrow?"
"Yes, Albus. He looks up to you even though recent events have shaken him and his faith in and respect for you. What has occurred has come very close to driving him over the edge into despair. We will speak more in the morning."
"Very well. Arthur let us get this over with."
Arthur and Albus left Bill, Remus, and Pan sitting in The Leaky Cauldron.
"Pan, how bad is Harry?" Bill asked.
"He is barely holding himself together. We can not allow anything else to happen to him until I have had a chance to help him rebuild his shattered mind."
"What exactly did that git of a professor do to Harry?" Bill growled.
"He brought all of Harry's bad memories to the forefront of his mind and viewed them. He laid Harry's life bare before him and smirked at it."
"Oh. Merlin, and Harry and Snape hate each other almost as much as Snape and Sirius hated each other," Remus replied.
"If Mum finds out Snape is dead and She'll singe Dumbledore's ears off over this, too," Bill added, shaking his head.
**********
Pan was startled awake, near dawn, as his link with Harry vanished. He raced out of his room and burst through the door to Harry's room. Harry and his things were gone.