Chapter 4: Inquisition

He didn't know how she did it, but she managed to sneak off of the bed, remove the charms, and slip out of the room without anyone being the wiser. It was not three minutes later that Mr. Weasley arose to check on him.

It took much to shock Arthur Weasley, but the sight before him did that quite quickly. Harry Potter was awake… quite shocking after the injuries he obtained not long before. Before he spoke he eased himself gently onto the bed to grab Harry's hand. First check being vitals, a necessary for every parent, being the father of seven he, being the most rational of the two Weasley parents, this was his normal reaction upon injury of anyone he cared for. Speaking softly so as not to wake-up the rest of the room he spoke "Grimauld Place, Harry, in the 2nd floor guest room." Answering first all of Harry's unasked questions.

Harry spoke barely in a whisper, his throat was once again hoarse and dry "Thank you."

Hearing the rasping of Harry's voice Mr. Weasley reached over to grab a light orange potion "drink Harry, it will make your throat better." Harry tried to grasp the vial, hands shaking so violently he was unable to even bring the concoction to his mouth. Sensing the difficulty, Arthur discretely helped the embarrassed teen to drink, making it clear using only body language that this would change nothing of his opinion of Harry. Giving a minute to allow the potion to take affect, he waited, grasping tightly to Harry's small, thin hand. Pulling Harry closer to him, he murmured calmingly and reassuringly into his ear "It's not your fault, you never deserved this." Harry fought back tears for as long as he could before he gasped and in hiccupping rasped he cried on Mr. Weasley's comforting shoulder, feeling for once as a child should in the presence of a father. He cried himself back to sleep. It was then when Harry was sleeping comfortably when Arthur eased away only to become rapidly aware of those waking around him.

"Shh… he woke" this was all he was able to say before moving to restrain his wife. "Let him sleep, he cried himself out. This isn't the time to wake him, he is ill and injured. Yes, he needs help but first he needs time. I know you love him, Molly, but this time I refuse." Molly, who rarely ever heard her husband use that tone, knew there was no arguing.

"Well, what did he say?" Asked the concerned face of the normally bubbly Tonks.

"He only said 'thank you.'" Arthur glanced over his shoulder at the too small sleeping teen, dwarfed even more by the large bed.

The relief of Harry's wake allowed many of the adults to rest, in shifts of course, someone was always present to be there with Harry when he woke. Remus took most of the shifts. The sleep was an induced healing sleep allowing Harry's magic to flow and heal like no potions or charms would effectively accomplish, thus with the extent of his injuries it was another four days before he opened his eyes again. What met his eyes shocked him greatly, the potions master, Severus Snape.

The small gasp Harry allowed to escape his lips was enough to alert Severus Snape to his watcher. The potions master who looked very relieved, began a small series of scans to judge the boy's condition. Grudgingly he pronounced Harry cured but weak, both magically and physically. And with that pronunciation in the room filled with the six adult Weasley's (minus Percy), Tonks, Remus, Minerva, Shacklebolt, and Mad-Eye. Dumbledore was suspiciously absent. And thus began the great inquisition.

Tension had filled the air in a silence nobody seemed to want to break. This just made Harry more and more uneasy. The thick walls were broken by all twelve adults and their numerous questions. Harry, to his relief, was unable to make any of them out. It seemed then that Shacklebolt was decided to be the leader. And in the most pressure filled room Harry had ever had the displeasure of being in, the questioning began. The first question had a simple answer and he knew, they knew and only wanted confirmation, but it was his embarrassment that forced him to cover it.

"Harry, who did this to you?" bluntly questioned by Kingsley.

"No one, I fell down the stairs."

The next command came from a slightly tearful Nymphandora Tonks, it was spoken gently but it was still a command "please don't lie to us Harry, we only want to help you."

In perfect Harry manner the "I'm sorry" came out followed by, in barely a whisper "the Dursley's."

Kingsley spoke again, "why didn't you tell somebody?"

The answer shocked everyone present, "I did tell people, I told my teachers at school when I was little, they said they would press charges, look into it." Here Harry's voice broke "they would come in the next class and wouldn't remember a thing I told them, it was always like it never happened, or nobody cared. I realized when I found out about the wizarding world, that most likely they were obliviatied. I didn't think anyone would care or help me." The last was spoken so softly, and with such resignation that even the feared 'greasy bat' had a tear rolling down his cheek. Luckily for him nobody noticed.

Harry continued, "I figured everybody knew, after all my letter was addressed to 'The Cupboard Under the Stairs', and I kept asking to stay at Hogwarts every year, but no I had to keep going back for the 'blood protection'". His voice was cracking, the tears were falling, and Harry could do nothing to stop it.

Harry answered the following questions with little hesitation, the answers were monotonous, as if spoken by a computer, no emotion, no pain. But everybody knew that the pain was there, just on the inside. The questions were routine, everybody present participated. It began with Remus, it was as if he feared the answer as he asked the question "how long?"

And he did cringe at the answer, along with everybody else in the room "since I can remember."

It was followed by a question that nobody wanted to ask, but it had to be, Snape was delegated to this, "did anyone ever sexually assault you?" The answer had everyone breathing a sigh of relief, it was the truth, a simple answer "no."

Fred's turn, "When was the last time you ate?" The answer, "Hogwarts feast". Harry then asked a question of his own, "What's the date?"

"July 13th, Harry." George said. "The bars, Harry, that were on your room…?" The question was implied, he knew they were not for robbers like Harry had said earlier. The reply was expected but unwanted, "they locked me in, they thought I couldn't cause trouble that way."

Mrs. Weasley sobbed out her question, "that is why you cook so well isn't it?" Harry over the last summer had spent a great amount of time competing with Mrs. Weasley to cook the best meals, nobody knew where Harry had conjured up his skills. The answer was clear with a simple nod from the small child.

The rest of the questions were small, things like his behaviors and mannerisms that he had developed or perfected that the small group of people had noticed. It all led back to the larger struggle, Harry Potter was an abused child.

Now it was Harry's turn to ask the internal questions he had been dreading, "Do Ginny, Ron, and Hermionie know?"

Bill replied, "No, when we went to get you we sent them back to the Burrow, they didn't even know you were coming back with us, and we still haven't told them. We thought that would be a job for you, when and if you feel up to it."

"Thank you, I don't want them to know, I didn't want you to know, I didn't want anyone to know."

"Mr. Potter," Snape drawled, "you should know that you will never return to those muggles again. Not a single person in this room would allow that, not even I."

"I have to the blood protection has to be renewed, I don't have a choice." Harry stated dutifully, even now unwilling to leave his relatives without protection.

"This is not up for debate Harry, you will never return. As your new guardian I am pressing charges." Harry started at this new revelation from Remus. Remus noticed and interjected "It will all be explained tomorrow."