Disclaimer- I make no claim to owning anything related to the world of Harry Potter. It is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.
The Summer After Sirius
Chapter 2: Dumbledore's Secret
"Will he make it?"
"I'm not sure. He's been through quite an ordeal."
"Let me know if his condition changes."
Blinding white light met Harry's eyes as he struggled to open them. Realizing he couldn't see anything without his glasses, he started reaching for them. Once he put them on and the room came into focus he saw a mound of long red hair resting on his bed by his legs.
"Ginny?" he croaked.
She slowly raised her head showing that she had tears on her face and let out a gasp of surprise when she saw him awake and looking at her. "Ron, Hermione he's awake!" She yelled out into the hall. Suddenly he was enveloped in a tangle of bushy brown hair and looking into the worried face of his best friend.
"We were so worried when we heard." Sobbed Hermione "We thought we had lost you."
"Yeah mate, you really gave us quite a scare," said Ron.
"Where am I?" Harry asked weakly, His head pounding like mad
"Your in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. You've been here about ten days," said Ron.
Remus who was just coming into the room broke into a huge grin and ran over to Harry enveloping him in a huge bear hug.
All Harry could do was gasp in pain when he did this as his shoulder was throbbing in an extremely painful way.
It was at this moment that Madame Pomfrey came out of her office and at the sight of Lupin practically crushing her patient; she started yelling at the group surrounding his bed.
"Get off him, he needs his rest. The rest of you shouldn't be all over him like that either; he needs to breathe you know." With that, she went back into her office to get the necessary potions for Harry.
Lupin got up hurriedly not wanting to get on her bad side.
"I'm sorry Harry but I was just so happy to see you up. For a while I thought we had lost you. I've never seen Albus so furious in my life as when he brought you back here."
Flashback
Boom!
The whole house shook as the front door to the Dursleys house was blown off its hinges and thrown into Vernon Dursley as Albus Dumbledore stepped menacingly into the home.
Looking around quickly, he found Harry in a heap, lying against the wall unconscious.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked dangerously. "How dare you attack this boy when he has done nothing to deserve it."
After throwing the door off himself Vernon yelled, "I'll kill all you freaks if I have to." With that, he whipped the gun at Dumbledore. But Dumbledore was much faster and called out "Expelliarmus," disarming Vernon and throwing him across the room into a wall.
"How could you let him do that to your own nephew?" he asked Petunia softly.
She looked at him with a look of pure hatred and contempt. "He let those freaks kill my son. I always knew he was jealous of him but I didn't think he would sink as low as to get him killed." She practically yelled at him.
"I know for a fact that Harry wouldn't wish death on anyone, let alone his cousin. Aurors will of course be notified and will come to take Mr. Dursley away for attempted murder. Now I must see to it that this young man doesn't in fact die."
With that he whirled around, picked Harry up and disapperated away to Hogwarts.
End of Flashback
He Suddenly remembered why he was here and all of the guilt of Dudley's death came washing back over him. It was all his fault. If he had only recognized that he wasn't acting like himself Dudley would still be alive.
"It's all my fault." He said softly. "Its all my fault that Dudley's dead."
"Are you crazy? Of course it isn't your fault. How could you have known that your cousin was under Imperius?" Squealed Ginny.
"Even wizards who are trained in Legilimency can't tell whether or not they are telling the truth; because they believe that what they are saying is the truth." Added Hermione.
He didn't believe them though, because he knew better. He should have been suspicious when Dudley started being civil to him. It was completely out of character for him.
"Your Right" he answered not wanting to continue with the argument and noticing for the first time that there was something in Remus's eye that looked like there was something wrong.
"Remus, is there something you're not telling me?" he started asking.
It was at this moment that Professor Dumbledore walked into the room. The twinkle that was usually so prominent in his eyes was gone, replaced with a deep sorrow that was filled with worry and concern.
"Ah, good Harry, your awake." He said gravely.
"Could I perhaps ask everyone to let me have a moment alone with young Harry here?" He asked to everyone. Madame Pomfrey was about to object as she was coming back with a tray full of different potions for Harry to take but Dumbledore silenced her with a wave "As soon as I'm done speaking with him he will be all yours." When they had all left the two of them alone, he spoke again.
"Harry I must ask that you forgive me yet again. For it was I who took it upon myself to place you with your Aunt and Uncle when you were a baby, knowing how much you hated it and how they mistreated you. I believed then as I still do, that because of your relation to your Aunt; that was the best and most safe place for you to be. However, I never thought for a second that your Uncle would do what he did to you ten days ago."
"Professor, what will I do for the rest of the summer?"
"That my dear boy that isn't so simple, at least for this summer anyway. You will finish your treatment at Hogwarts then you will have the option of staying here or going to Grimmald Place to be with your friends. That will all depend on the outcome of the next few days though. You should be ready to leave tomorrow though. Next summer is another matter; because, if you cannot go back to your Aunt's, then you will be forced to stay at Hogwarts, as it will be the safest place for you without her protection."
It was a bittersweet victory for Harry because he had pleaded with Dumbledore for years to be able to spend his summers someplace other than Privet Drive. Now that he didn't have to go back there anymore he would gladly give it up to have Dudley back.
"What's going to happen to my Uncle?"
"That Harry, is a matter for the Wizengamot to decide. Right now he is being held in a holding cell at the Ministry."
"Is there going to be a funeral for my cousin?" Harry asked quietly.
"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but there has already been one. Your Aunt was most adamant that you not attend, even if you were able. She said that you wouldn't be welcome there."
He couldn't believe it; he wouldn't even be able to pay his respects to Dudley. 'Could life get anymore unfair' he thought to himself.
"What about the Death Eaters that killed Dudley? Did they get away?"
At this, Dumbledore looked both hurt and delighted at the same time.
"I'm also sorry to inform you about this but when I arrived, Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy were coherent enough to apparate away when they saw me, Waldon MacNair on the other hand was not and he is currently in the Dungeons here at Hogwarts."
Things never seemed to go his way. Now he wouldn't even be able to get revenge on Bellatrix for Dudley. Life was so unfair.
"One last thing professor, is there something I should know about, because Remus was looking at me like I was dead or something?"
"I'm sorry Harry but that I cannot answer that at this time. I will fill you in on everything that has transpired since your unfortunate accident tomorrow. Now, if you don't have anymore questions, I will leave you in Madame Pomfrey's capable hands before she has my hide." He said with a smile.
With that, Professor Dumbledore strode out of the room and Harry was left alone with Madame Pomfrey.
"So will I make it?" he asked jokingly, not knowing whether or not he really wanted to know how bad it was.
"I've patched you up and mended your broken bones, but where you were shot; along with your shoulder being separated, there has been a lot of tissue damage that I won't be able to do anything for, it will just have to heal on its own. I'm not even one hundred percent sure that it will ever be quite the same again."
Harry looked at her horrorstruck.
"But there's always hope." She added. "You'll have to walk around with a sling for at least a week."
With that, she left him with a couple of potions to help with the swelling and the pain. Telling him to take them before he went to sleep and that she would be back later.
At this time everybody came piling back into the room, telling him all that had been happening in the Wizarding world while he was at his Aunt and Uncle's house and while he had been unconscious.
He barely listened though; he just kept brooding over the fact that Dudley was dead because of him. How everything always seemed to happen to him and how everybody would be better off if he weren't around.
After Professor Dumbledore finally led everybody out he started thinking about what Madame Pomfrey said about how his shoulder might never be the same again. 'What will this do to my Quidditch career at school?' He wondered. At that thought he let out a hollow laugh, "That's even if I could play Quidditch" he said to himself. Because in his fifth year, he, along with Fred and George Weasley were all given life long bans from ever playing again for fighting with Malfoy, and as far as he knew, it was still in effect.
Madame Pomfrey came bustling back into the room a little later to check whether or not he had taken the potions and to give him a draught of Dreamless Sleep potion.
He thanked her for it knowing that he was bound to have nightmares of either Cedric, Sirius, or Dudley without it.
After taking it, he settled in for his first good nights sleep in a long time when suddenly he overheard two voices coming from the hallway.
"How could Fudge do this to him, we all know he's innocent?"
"Yes I can sympathize with you, but you have to understand that Cornelius feels that he has been made a fool of by Harry because he has been telling the truth about Voldemort all through last year, while he himself has denied it. And now that Voldemort has shown himself to the world and made Cornelius look like a fool, he will stop at nothing to make sure Harry is discredited."
"He always was more a politician than a man of the people."
"Yes, there is no denying that. There will be a story all about it in the Daily Prophet tomorrow."
"So when do you plan on telling Harry about this? You surely won't wait for him to read it in the paper will you?"
"I didn't want to spoil anyone's happiness today with his waking up. It will have to wait until tomorrow morning. I'm sure they will come for him then and I plan on making sure that he isn't surprised when he is taken away."
"Do the kids know anything about this?"
"No. I thought it would be best if they weren't all worried about it today, for Harry's sake."
"You don't think that Fudge will actually have enough evidence to go through with it do you?"
"I sincerely hope not. Though I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. In any case, I'm going to retire for the night."
"I suppose I should myself, Goodnight Albus."
"Goodnight Remus."
With that, their shadows went their separate ways leaving an utterly perplexed Harry in their wake. 'What could they possibly be talking about? What could that idiot Fudge be doing now, that has Remus so worried?'
These were his last thoughts as he drifted into a deep dreamless sleep.
A/N Sorry about leaving you with another cliffhanger but that's the way it had to be. Plus it might just keep you coming back. I'll try in the future to not make every chapter one though.
Oh, and don't forget to review because I love your suggestions.