Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and her publishers, not to me. I'm not making money off this.

Spoilers: All five HP novels.

PRELUDE--MUSINGS & CONVERSATIONS

XV: Hogwarts vs. Dursleys

Suiting actions to words, the three went downstairs and sat on the chairs; two weren't enough, so Dumbledore conjured up three more to match. It wasn't long before the Dursleys came in—all four of them. Marge Dursley skidded to a halt; the other three spread out around her and also halted.

"Who are YOU freaks?!" she demanded.

Snape wasted no time; his wand was out so fast it was as if he had had it ready. Lupin wasn't so sure he hadn't. He snapped out several low-voiced spells. "Silencio. Stupefy. Mobilicorpus. Obliviate." Marge was efficiently silenced, Stunned and lifted to the couch. "She does not know of the Wizarding World, and must not know. She will wake up after we leave, and not remember that we were here." He lowered his hand, but did not put away the wand. "Now, I suggest that you three all sit down; this will make things easier for all concerned." They stared, and did so; there was something about this man that was truly scary, unlike some of the others they had met. Only when they had seated themselves did the Wizard sheathe his wand in its sleeve holster.

Vernon Dursley stared at Snape. "I don't remember ever seeing you before. You're another one of those fr—uh, Professors at that school, aren't you?"

"I am a Professor at Hogwarts, yes. I am Severus Snape, Potions Master." He stood, and was now in full "Snape-mode"—intimidation factor turned up on full. "You have already met Professor Remus Lupin, Defense Against the Dark Arts—"he gestured at Lupin—"it was he who taught Mr. Potter the charm that saved himself and your son from the Dementors last year." Dudley's eyes grew wide, but he didn't speak. "And I do not know if you have ever actually met Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts." He gestured toward Dumbledore, who nodded.

"Now, I believe you were told that we are here for advice counseling for Mr. Potter. That is essentially correct; he has asked us for extra study materials for some of the advanced courses he will be taking. However, we were highly disturbed at the...interruption, and even more dismayed at the information we gathered therefrom." The Dursleys gasped.

"You were listening in on us, weren't you? Not satisfied with setting Potter on us, you had to listen to Dudley's embarrassment!" Petunia snarled.

"Not only listening, but watching," Lupin put in. "The Headmaster and I were upstairs, with the magical equivalent of full-sound video; Professor Snape was downstairs in the room with you, invisible."

"What? You were in here?" demanded Vernon. "Where?"

Snape replied more calmly. "I was standing in that corner the entire time that the crowd was here, and was quietly sitting down over there when the police officer talked alone to first Mr. Potter, then to Professor Dumbledore. This was for Mr. Potter's safety; you already know that his life has been threatened, and we are especially careful in crowds of people we do not know." His voice hardened, but still held the silky smooth tone of a well-honed knife in a velvet sheath.

"D.C. Markham talked to you?" Petunia asked Dumbledore. "Whatever for?"

"First, he wished to verify Mr. Potter's identity again," Dumbledore replied calmly. "Second, we wished to assure each other of the veracity, or lack thereof, of some of the statements made tonight."

"Such as?"

"Mr. Potter's statement about going to a private boarding school in Scotland; I was verifying that the school exists, but not its name, true nature or exact location. The true relationship to Sirius Black; who, by the way, is unfortunately now deceased, and was never guilty of the crimes for which he was imprisoned." He gave Petunia a long, hard look. "Markham was also kind enough to apprise me of the actual nature of that St. Brutus' school. While I agree it made a useful cover story, I find it strange that you could not simply tell the truth, as Mr. Potter did."

"How could we explain it? He should have gone to the local high school as we planned, then all of this would not have been necessary!"

"Ah--but he didn't, and it was. Now, as I have been reminded several times this week, we are now faced with this: what has been done is done, and past; we need to deal with things as they are, not as we would have them. Let me remind you that our first priority is the safety and welfare of Mr. Potter, who is after all our student, then your safety." Dumbledore looked up at Snape, who was still standing. "If you would, Professor."

Snape took his place before all three Dursleys. "I should explain that I have been teaching Potions at Hogwarts—and don't flinch at the name, I intend to use quite a few words that you seem to dislike hearing—for over fifteen years; for most of that I have been Head of Slytherin House. Our students are divided into four Houses, starting with First Year; their House becomes a surrogate family for them. As a Head of House, I deal with students from many different backgrounds and home environments. I have seen my fair share of troubled students from badly managed families, and students who simply did not fit into their home environments. Professor Lupin is the junior of us three, as he is only starting his second year, but he is quite capable and relates well to the students. Professor Dumbledore was in Gryffindor House, as were Professor Lupin and James and Lily Potter, and as is Mr. Potter; he has been teaching, mainly Transfiguration with some Defense, for well over fifty years; he has been Headmaster for over twenty years. All of us have similar experiences. The incident today has caused us to do a serious reevaluation of Mr. Potter's placement here." He gave them a glare that seemed to drop the room temperature.

"Based on what we saw and heard today, put together with evidence gathered over the years that had not heretofore been properly assembled, we have concluded the following: that while you had more than adequate resources, Mr. Potter and your son were not raised equitably; that Master Dursley had all the benefits and Mr. Potter had all the work; that he never received the least shred of encouragement; that he was constantly belittled and slandered; that your son's friends were told that he was either a criminal or a lunatic, thereby discouraging him from having any friends; that your son was encouraged to belittle, abuse and intimidate him at every opportunity, and to intimidate anyone who ever attempted to befriend him; that he was underfed, inadequately clothed, and given very few chances for independent recreation; that his primary school accomplishments were denigrated, especially when compared to Master Dursley's; and that you did all that you could to ensure that he knew you hated magic—the most fundamental part of what he is. Wizards and Witches are no more freaks than professional athletes or gifted musicians; we are human beings who can do what the majority cannot."

"Then tell me what was that—creature who delivered his first letter? If that was a human being, I'll eat that ruddy owl!" Vernon retorted. "He was at least eleven feet tall and had all the couth of a—a peasant!"

"Rubeus Hagrid is now the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures," Dumbledore replied mildly. "His father was a Wizard; his mother a Giantess. Several of the humanlike races are capable of intermarriage."

Vernon purpled, but was too stunned to express outrage.

"M—may I ask a question?" stuttered Dudley.

"Be quiet! You should not even be in here!" Vernon thundered.

"On the contrary, Mr. Dursley, he has every right," Lupin spoke up. "He lives here, too; he is Harry's age. If he is old enough, and polite enough, to ask a question, he is old enough to receive the courtesy of an answer." He turned to Dudley. "What do you wish to know?"

"Where's Harry?"

Dumbledore answered him. "He is upstairs, asleep. This afternoon was extremely nerve-wracking for him; it has not even been a month since his beloved Godfather was killed in front of him, and several of his closest friends were badly injured; he has not yet fully recovered from that. Some of the issues we discussed with him today touched on that event. Your Aunt Marjorie is exceedingly tactless and cruel, and it hurt him very much." Dumbledore leveled his gaze at the boy, and his tone moderated a fraction. "You will be interested to know that in the course of the private interview with the constable, Harry spoke up for you, despite your faults. He is one of the most forgiving young men I have ever known."

"He did?" Dudley gasped. "He saved my life last summer, too, from those Dementoid thingys. That's why I didn't blame him like Dennis and Piers did for the marijuana dealing. I owed him one. And I found out it was Piers' idea to give Dennis Harry's name to customers, by the way." He ignored his father's rising temper.

"And that was an incredibly stupid thing to do," Snape rejoined silkily. "That would only lead them back here anyway—unless that was part of their plan, as well as dropping all the evidence in your car."

Dudley gulped. "I know that now; I was used, by mates I've had all my life. And what's weird is, I think Harry knew it, too; he gave me a kind of sympathetic look—like he understood."

"That is why you need not fear any reprisal whatever from Harry," Lupin assured Dudley. "He despises bullies, mainly because of what you and your friends and family did to him all his life; he despises users of people as well, because he has seen it too often. Whatever you may have done to him in the past makes it no less wrong for your friends to betray you." He blinked, looked down, composed himself, and continued. "We Wizards are not immune to the human frailties and faults; we have our good and evil sorts, and also our ordinary sorts that just want to make their way in the world."

"But that boy is not ordinary, even by the standards of your kind," Petunia insisted. "That's why we have practically no family; that's why my sister was murdered! He attracts trouble!"

"Lily and James Potter were murdered because the Dark Lord wanted them dead, not because either they or Harry 'attracted trouble'," Snape retorted. His voice was now silk-with-an-edge again. "I know this for a fact. Professor Lupin and I were in your sister's Hogwarts year, although he was in Gryffindor with her and James, and I was in Slytherin. The Potters were one of the most prominent families in the fight against the Dark Lord before his first fall--which fall was solely due to your sister's sacrifice for Harry. That is why he has been here; your sharing of your sister's shed blood prevents the Dark Lord from coming here to harm any of you. You are right about Harry being not ordinary; in point of fact he is gifted in certain ways, and that is part of what we came here to discuss today." He scowled. "We knew that his home life here was not ideal. But we did not know that it would become so intolerably unsupportive that the drawbacks to his well-being outweighed the safety presented by the Blood Charm!"

"Meaning?" asked Vernon.

"Meaning that we are, tonight, going to remove him from here permanently," Dumbledore replied firmly. "You will still have such protection as we can afford, but it will not be the same level. He is about to undertake some stringent and advanced training, and he needs to be fully healthy first, mentally and physically. He cannot heal here, although he has tried; you have seen to that." His voice tone dropped the room temperature even lower than Snape's had; some of his real power was showing. "You have shown a lack of care for Harry that goes well over the line of mere neglect to actual abuse. You have spoiled and indulged your own son to an equally abusive level; you have done him no favors in shielding him from consequences, and done nothing whatever to prepare him for the real world. And the tactless and cruel treatment Harry received today from Miss Dursley, when he has not healed at all from losing a third much-loved parent figure, nearly pushed him into a loss of control that could have very well flattened this house and everyone in it." He paused to let that sink in. "His conscience is so overdeveloped, on the other hand, that he would have drowned in his own guilt—had he survived the blast." He glared at the Dursleys, and his voice rose. "I have known families steeped for generations in the Dark Arts, some of Lord Voldemort's supporters, against whom I am now fighting a bitter war, who would have been far worthier guardians for Harry than you, who are his kin! They at least value their precious children, as you obviously do not!"

No one spoke for a long minute, while the echoes of his pronouncement faded. It was Snape who broke the silence, and his voice was now a whip-crack.

"You three will remain downstairs, while we go upstairs and prepare for departure. If there is anything whatever of Lily's left here, get it out; Harry will have it. When we leave, we will go as we came; we are not any more desirous of attracting attention than you are. Before then, you will have a charm placed to forget our names and faces; you will only remember that some of Harry's teachers came for him. This is for your safety, as well as Harry's and ours. Professor Dumbledore will prepare a guardianship release for you, and you will both sign it, waiving all kin guardianship rights to Harry, and assigning temporary guardianship to Professor Dumbledore. He will select Harry's further placement; you need not know with whom or where, and it is safer for you that you not know. If Markham or anyone else asks for him, you are to say that he has returned to school early for a summer advanced tuition program." He waited a long moment. "Any questions?"

Dudley spoke again. "Would you—would you tell him goodbye from me? And I'm sorry?" he gulped.

"I will. If Harry wishes to make further contact, he will decide when, where and how. This is also for your safety." Snape gave the boy one of his piercing stares. "Harry seems to think you're salvageable; so does Professor Dumbledore. I am not so certain; I have seen too many boys in my House like you. You are what your parents have made of you; anything else you must do yourself, and it will not be easy, with all that you must unlearn to become a remotely passable human being, which at present you are not. It can be done, however. But you will have to want it badly enough to work at it." He turned on his heel, and left the room in a billow of robes; Dumbledore and Lupin followed him.

XVI: Departures

Harry awoke to a gentle touch on the shoulder. "Wake up, we're getting ready to leave," Lupin said softly.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost two hours: long enough for your relatives to come home, and for us to thoroughly castigate them." Lupin smiled. "You should have heard Severus give them the full Professor Snape treatment...it makes up for a lot of our bad history. Lily would have been proud, and James shocked. Now, we need to get you up, so that we can un-Transfigure this couch without dumping you, and then we can pack."

Harry didn't need to be told twice to get up; he knew about Transfigured furniture. The couch was larger than his bed, and he didn't fancy sitting on air. "Pack?" he asked numbly, as that word sank in.

"Pack," affirmed Lupin. "Or did you think that Albus and Severus and I would leave you here, after all that has happened today? From today, you are now a ward—temporarily—of Albus Dumbledore himself; he will determine your future placement."

"Temporarily? Why? Where are we going, anyway?"

"It had to be one of the three of us here for the waiver paperwork. I am barred from full custody, and Severus cannot afford to have his name appear on anything of this nature, so that left Albus. I think he has something better in mind for your future placement. But, in the meantime, let's get your gear together." He smiled. "If nothing else, we are going to someplace where we can get some food; none of us have eaten since lunch!"

Harry got up, pulled out his trunk, and opened it up. Together they gathered up parchments, books, clothes, the Firebolt, and other items; Lupin used the "Pack" charm that Tonks had used the previous year. After the couch was restored to a bed, Harry pulled open the loose floorboard and took out his treasures—his photo album, some letters, and the invisibility cloak. He made certain nothing remained and restored the board.

"That's the lot," he said, and added those items to the trunk. Lupin nodded, and handed back Harry's wand; Harry put it into his pocket.

"Very well—let's go downstairs, finish the paperwork, and get Severus and Albus up here."

Together they descended the stairs. When they arrived in the kitchen, Dumbledore looked up from a parchment. Snape stood quietly beside the door.

"Ah—there you are, Harry. You need to sign here, too."

Harry came over to the kitchen table. Vernon and Dudley were not there; Petunia was seated opposite the Headmaster. He read over the contract, took the quill, and signed. He and Petunia exchanged long looks, but no words were said.

Dumbledore rolled up the parchment, and then stood up. "That will be it, then. We will leave as we came; Remus, Harry, go back up; Severus, escort her upstairs to her room." He held out his hand to Petunia; she took it gingerly and shook it politely. He quietly aimed his wand, said "Obliviate", then turned away and followed the others back up to the room. Snape rejoined them shortly.

"Where are Vernon and Dudley?" Harry asked.

"They have already had their Obliviation and are in their respective rooms asleep," Snape replied. "Your cousin has asked me to bid you goodbye, and to tell you he's sorry. I think he may have actually meant it."

Harry picked up Hedwig's cage; Lupin shrank the trunk and put it in his pocket. All four Wizards held onto each other or Fawkes' tail, and vanished in flames.