Chapter 32
Silent Concealment
AN:
I don't own HP.
Enough said.
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Harry fidgeted uncomfortably in the cushioned seat in front of the Headmaster's desk with Fawkes looking at him curiously.
"Do I really have to be here?" Harry asked his defense Professor who was examining some of the new gadgets Dumbledore must have gotten after Harry had purged his office of some expensive and rare items. "Can't you just give me detention for a month and leave me alone?"
"I'm afraid not," Remus said smiling slightly and then explained. "The Headmaster said that he wanted to speak with you about your latest Occlumency lesson. Snape said you ran out of his room upset. What happened?"
"Its none of your damned business," Harry snapped defensively. "Its just a bloody misunderstanding."
"Well then I'm sure you wouldn't mind waiting until you sort out this misunderstanding," Remus replied logically.
Harry glared at the defense professor and muttered under his breath, "Snape's an evil git and Dumbledore insists on torturing students by employing him. That's the misunderstanding."
"What's a misunderstanding?" Dumbledore asked opening the door to his office and walking to his seat behind his large desk with Snape behind him, leaning on the wall behind the desk.
"What's SNAPE doing here?" Harry demanded jumping to his feet and pointing accusingly at the Potions Master.
"Professor Snape, Harry," the headmaster reminded his often forgetful Gryffindor student.
"Fine then, what's PROFESSOR Snape doing here? I thought you wanted to talk to me because I accidentally went too far in a passageway and out of range of a certain map," Harry said heatedly.
"I'm afraid that isn't all I wanted to talk about Harry," Dumbledore said folding his hands in front of him and looking at the teenager sadly after motioning the boy to sit back down. "Professor Snape discovered something peculiar when tutoring you this evening."
"Does Professor Lupin have to be here?" Harry asked quickly, shooting a slightly panicked look towards his father's friend as he sat down on the normally comfortable chair which currently felt like concrete.
The man in question looked at the boy in shock, confused at why Harry wouldn't want him in the room.
"I think it would be beneficial to have him here," Dumbledore said.
"Beneficial how? Killing two birds with one bleeding 0stone? Telling him something you only suspect while you interrogate me to learn the truth? Just to save you some precious time which you can use to eat damned lemon drops?" Harry demanded standing back up.
"Potter, sit back down now. You will show respect to the Headmaster and this school by not swearing. Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape snapped at the boy as ill at ease with the situation as Harry was. Not only did this situation remind him uncomfortably when the Headmaster found out his own secret but he was not particularly happy with the man at the moment at any rate.
"And I don't know why Professor Snape has to be here either," Harry continued only acknowledging Snape's rebuke by starting on the reasoning for his presence in the headmaster's office when Dumbledore was obviously going to ask some sensitive questions. "You bloody well know that he hates my guts, he's just going to gloat at the mere possibility of what him saying being true and you acting on it."
"Potter…" Snape started but silenced when the old wizard held up a hand.
"Mr. Potter, please sit down," Dumbledore said, his voice clearly showing that it was an order and not a request as the wording might have suggested. Harry sat down sullenly. "Professor Snape must be here because he was the one who has brought this to my attention. And I believe that Professor Lupin would like evidence before believing what I believe to be true and I do not wish you to be subjected to haunting memories more than necessary."
"Just like you tried to protect me by keeping the prophecy a secret from me?" Harry muttered under his breath refusing to look at the headmaster.
Dumbledore closed his eyes with regret, "Harry, I apologize for the grief that has caused you but you must believe me that I was acting in the best possible way I could at the time."
Harry still refused to look at him.
"Headmaster," Snape said. "We are veering off of the topic."
"I wasn't aware there was one," Remus muttered under his own breath bewildered by the situation. Harry must not have tried to kill himself again, otherwise Snape would have been much more vocal about what occurred. The fact that Snape was relatively silent sent chills down his spine. Something serious must have happened.
"I'm afraid there is a topic," Dumbledore said looking at Remus. "Perhaps you would like to take a seat."
The chill up Remus's spin got colder as he sat down next to Harry, "That bad?"
"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore said. He turned to Harry and asked, "Harry, would you please allow us to see your back?"
Harry looked at the Headmaster in disbelief; none of the memories had shown his uncle using his belt, a miracle honestly. "Why would you want to see my back? There's nothing there, if there was don't you think Madam Pomfrey would have told you something one of the many times I was unconscious in the Hospital Wing?"
"Our dear nurse uses switching spells to put unconscious patients in pajamas, and she uses a spell to determine injuries and does not examine patients physically except for directly at the wound," Dumbledore said.
"Headmaster, is this going to what I think this is going to?" Lupin asked warily.
"I'm afraid so Remus," Dumbledore said tiredly. "Professor Snape believes that Harry was abused as a child."
"I wasn't," Harry spat. "There's nothing on my back. I don't know why you would even think there was anything on my back in the first place."
"I must admit Harry, you are an accomplished actor," Dumbledore said. "But you did slip up occasionally. There were a couple of little things that hinted at what you were hiding. However I was most curious when you didn't take your robes off for the second task when they slowed you down."
Harry stared at him speechless for a second before stating, "I was too worried about getting to Ron. It didn't occur to me."
"That's what I thought as well, but please humor me and allow me to see your back," Dumbledore said.
Harry discretely put his hand in his pocket where his wand was and put a concealing charm on his back without muttering the incantation hoping it would work. "There is really nothing on my back."
"Then prove it Potter," Snape snapped getting impatient.
Harry glared at the professor before finally standing up, taking off his robes and t-shirt and turning around so that the adults in the room would be able to see his back.
"There appear to be no marks," Dumbledore said calmly.
"See? I told…" Harry started to say but stopped when Dumbledore cast a spell.
"Finite Incantum."
Harry swore under his breath as Remus gasped.
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AN:
Aren't I evil?
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