Chapter 20:

Repercussions

Percy Weasley addressed the eleven year old seated across from him calmly. There was no way this child could have known the laws restricting that information and so he was determined to be fair to her. He would not punish her for the deeds of others.

"Miss Barnes, could you please tell me how much you know about Harry Potter?"

Courtney, who was feeling a little rebellious now that she realized she had not had a chance to get to what she really wanted to say, answered curtly, "More than you."

Percy's eyes narrowed slightly but did not change his tone when he said, "What exactly do you know that I don't?"

"Every detail of the night Harry was framed for Hagrid's murder, including how he ended up in the Forbidden Forest."

Percy snorted in a very undignified matter, "No one knows what happened that night. Miss Barnes, allow me to be frank, whoever gave you your information is facing some serious charges. We need you to cooperate. Did the headmaster or any of your teachers tell you about Harry Potter."

Courtney was silent for a moment, hesitant to tell Percy the whole truth now that she knew her father's alter ego was Harry. So instead, she asked a question, "Are people who already know allowed to talk amongst themselves about Harry?"

"Yes."

"I talked to the Headmaster, Sirius, Hermione, Ron, Fred and George after I already knew about Harry."

Percy's eyebrows shot up as he stood and turned to the twin Unspeakables. "You knew she had this information?" He was angry that three of his brothers and one of his sisters-in-law had evidently been party to this public airing of Ministry secrets. He whirled back around to Courtney and demanded, "Who was your original source?"

Courtney glanced at Fred and George who both nodded for her to tell the truth. She sighed, "I wrote some letters and asked some questions. I got answers."

"From who?" Percy was almost seething now and started pacing the length of the room..

"Harry Potter himself."

Percy stopped short and stared at her. Then in a low voice he said, "You expect me to believe that Harry Potter who has had no contact with the wizarding world, except for cursed Howlers, for sixteen years, suddenly decides to write to an eleven year old student?"

"I wrote to him in September after I discovered how little information there was in the library. He wrote back to me. He told me his entire story. You may have been able to silence other people in regards to the truth, but if Harry Potter decides he wants the truth known you can't do anything about it, for two reasons. First, if I understand it, you are under a Wizard's Oath that neither you nor the Ministry will attempt contact with him and second, whether he knows or not or has used it or not, he holds the title, Merlin's Staff."

Percy stared at her, seeing that he was loosing. He turned to his brothers and said, "How long have you known?"

Fred and George looked at each other and the George answered, "Since Halloween. Harry wrote to us asking that all his ownership earnings and privileges be transferred to Courtney."

Percy sat down, defeated. This had already gone too far to stop it. He had to find a way to control it. His mind started trying to salvage the situation. So far Harry had not declared the laws void and so the teachers could still be prosecuted for allowing the information to be made public. That would also mean prosecuting Ron, Fred and George since they had known as well. This was not going to be fun. He was about to turn to give some instructions to the other two Ministry personnel when there was a knock at the door.

It opened without an invitation and a very somber, upset Albus Dumbledore walked in. "Excuse me, I need to talk to Miss Barnes on a matter of great urgency."

Courtney sat sobbing on the bed in the infirmary, clinging to Hermione for dear life. Fred was standing near a wall holding his own crying wife. George had been sent to fetch Michael from the daycare room. They were not even sure how to explain it to him. Albus and Sirius were closing the curtain around the bed where the body lay. Courtney had insisted on seeing for herself. They hadn't been able to convince her otherwise.

Albus looked heartbroken as he contemplated the death of the young (by wizard standards) mother and what other repercussions it could have. He turned to Sirius and started to address him, "I nee…" his sentence got cut off sharply as a sudden pain erupted in his chest. He almost choked. He looked around frantically, eyes landing on Fred. "Fred," he managed to gasp out, "P…please go to the Barnes' house…."

Fred, startled to hear the directive to him, looked up just in time to see a very pale Albus Dumbledore slump to the floor.

Sirius jumped to the headmaster and Fred, sitting Megan in a chair, hurriedly joined him. Albus' somewhat glassy eyes saw Fred, "Go!" he whispered barely audibly. Fred hesitated.

"Fred, go! We will take care of Albus. Go get David Barnes." Sirius said, already propping the headmaster against the bed and getting up to find Madam Pomfrey.

As Hermione held onto Courtney (who was completely oblivious to what had just happened) she watched a very panicked Madam Pomfrey along with a worried Sirius get the Headmaster onto a bed. Poppy immediately started trying to find out what had happened.

After a few minutes she ceased and pulled Sirius aside, "I suggest you find Minerva. Get her to handle things with the Ministry. Albus has had a massive heart attack."

"How severe?" Sirius asked in a low voice.

Poppy bit her lip, "I need some specialists immediately or he could die of heart failure."

Fred was so nervous he almost ran before he rang the doorbell of the Barnes' house. It had been years since he'd had to deliver such tidings. During the war years, he had often been called upon to notify families of a death. It had been his responsibility to tell spouses and children of some very close colleagues' deaths. Those had been awful experiences. But this task was different, and in some ways worse.

During war, there was a known risk. Even those who were not actively fighting knew they were at risk. Death Eaters had shown no mercy to non-combatants. But this….

This was completely unexpected and senseless! Combined with what Fred knew of David…he felt dread creeping over him. He had liked Kathryn, though he mostly only knew her through Megan and Amanda. He knew Courtney somewhat better through Caleb and personal interaction. She had met with him and his twin a few times since receiving a share of the company. She was a bright young girl. She had told them about her father's gradual reconciliation with the idea of her being a witch.

What would this do to that? What would David Barnes do now? What would Courtney do? As far as Fred could see, Courtney was entrenched in the new culture she had adopted. She would not leave it. Would this completely rip this family apart?

He hesitantly reached out and hit the doorbell. A few moments later David opened the door. His eyebrows rose slightly as he saw who his guest was. "Mr. Weasley, can I help you?" and he extended his hand.

Fred was inwardly surprised at this response. David was being far more polite than he had been at dinner a few months ago, even more polite than he had been when Fred and Megan had picked Kathryn and Michael up only days ago.

"Might I come in?" Fred said grasping David's hand.

David simply nodded and stepped away from the door to allow Fred to step in. Fred nervously wiped his hands on his pants and entered the house. They entered the living room and sat down, David waiting for Fred to explain why he was there.

"David…" Fred managed to say and then he took a deep breath.

David looked at him strangely. He could feel his stomach starting to knot; he had never seen Fred look this nervous before, he couldn't meet his eye. Had something happened to Courtney?

"David…oh Merlin! David, something…happened at Hogwarts."

David's heart leapt into his throat as he tensed, waiting for Fred to tell him what had happened.

"Kathryn left Courtney's presentation, upset and ran to the bathroom. Megan followed. I'm not sure why Kathryn was upset, but she…as she was walking back with Megan…."

Fred broke off.

David's eyes were wide with fear and he stood in agitation, "What happened?" he demanded.

"She fell when the staircase moved. Kathryn is dead."

A slight gasp was the only sound that escaped David Barnes' lips as he collapsed onto the floor, staring uncomprehendingly at Fred. Then he slowly started shaking his head, mumbling quietly. Fred cautiously got closer so that he could hear him.

"No, no…oh God, please no! No!…" his voice was full of anguish.

"David, I'm sorry. I'm so terribly sorry," Fred said softly, "I don't know how to comfort you…"

Fred trailed off as David stood and looked straight at him, eyes bright with anger and hate. "Take me to my wife," He demanded in an icy tone.

Fred nodded hastily and pulled out a portkey. He gripped David's shoulder and said, "Infirmary," and the world dissolved around the two men.

They landed moments later in the Hogwarts infirmary, David seemingly, not even phased by the foreign mode of transportation. As soon as the man got his footing, he rushed towards the bed where his daughter still clung to Hermione Granger.

Seeing Courtney's father, Hermione began extracting herself from the girl's grip. Courtney, not seeing her father, clung tighter.

"Courtney, your father is here," she whispered. Courtney sat up straight, looked around and then lunged into his arms. He gripped her in a tight hug as Courtney's sobs began anew and silent tears trickled down David's cheeks. He slowly lifted her and held her as he sat down in a chair.

Courtney fell asleep in his arms a little while later and he gently laid her on a bed. Then he turned to Fred and Hermione who were still there. "Where is she?" he asked in a choked voice.

Hermione silently led him to the curtained bed in the corner and opened it to allow him in. Then she walked back to Courtney's bed to allow him some privacy.

He hadn't wanted to believe it. He'd wanted it to be some horrible mistake. She couldn't be dead, not his Kathryn. Not his wife. He reached out his hand to feel for a pulse and then placed his hand over her heart and forced his magic to heal her. Tactile healing was what he was best at. He could use his magic without a wand to heal. It had to work.

But there she lay cold and still. There was no doubt that she was dead. And there was nothing he could do. He sank into the chair next to the bed and gripped her still hand, tears once again starting to fall. He gently stroked her cheek and spoke quietly, "Kathryn, Kathryn, I love you. I'm sorry," his voice broke, "I'm sorry I could never tell you. I love you Kathryn, but I couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth about my past. But I love you so much! You and the children are my entire world. Why did this happen? Why were you taken from me?" His voice was now barely a whisper as sobs threatened to emerge, "I love you. You taught me how to love. You remember what I was like when we first met, I was closed off from the world, cold hearted, distant. You opened my shell, you changed my life, Kathryn! You saved me from that bitterness that was consuming me. I…" he broke off and gripped her hand tighter, "I don't know if I can do that again. You were my anchor. Kathryn please, help me, how do I save myself from the bitterness this time, without you?" An anguished cry ripped from his throat as his sobs finally broke through. He was helpless against the grief and pain that crashed through his mind. He was aware of only her cold hand in his.

Slowly a voice penetrated his mind through the heartbroken sobs that were racking his body. "David, David."

It was a man's voice. David gasped, inhaling deeply and turned to look at Fred. "Courtney is awake, and we have Michael in another room."

David sucked in sharply, Michael!

"Has anyone told Michael?" he asked shakily.

Fred shook his head, "We will tell him if you want us to."

David shook his head abruptly and stood. He paused to kiss Kathryn on the forehead then turned to Fred, regaining a little bit of composure, and said, "Please bring Michael to me."

Michael was a little bit confused and worried. The man with red hair (he couldn't remember his name) had come and gotten him a long time ago, but he hadn't told him anything. Michael was used to watching grown-ups and these ones kept talking in quiet voices and glancing at him. He was afraid he had done something bad, but he couldn't imagine what. So he simply sat on the couch flipping through a book he had taken from the toys.

"Michael," he looked up startled at the red-haired man. "Come with me, your father wants to see you."

Daddy was here? Why was he here?

Michael walked with the man down the hallway and into a room that reminded Michael of the Children's Hospital where Daddy worked. Daddy and Courtney were sitting on a bed. Courtney had been crying, he could tell that much and Daddy looked sad.

David looked up as the door opened once again. Michael stood there with George Weasley. He quickly kissed Courtney and stood. He walked across the room and picked Michael up, bringing him back to the bed. He sat back down on the bed with his son in his lap.

"Michael," he said quietly, "Mommy got hurt today. She got hurt very badly."

Michael scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, "Can you fix her?"

The trust in Michael's eyes, that his father could 'fix' her, nearly made him loose his nerve.

"No Michael, I can't. Mommy was hurt too much. So…" he struggled to find a way to tell the six year old his mother was dead. "Mommy went to heaven so she wouldn't hurt anymore."

"Will she be coming back?" Michael said tremulously.

"No Michael," David said brokenly, "She won't be. Mommy will never be coming back."

Michael started crying, not fully understanding, but just knowing he missed his mother and would never see her again.

Michael had long ago fallen asleep, but Courtney refused to do the same. She clung to David, occasionally shaking as new tears fell, but staying silent.

The three of them were now in a suite of rooms near the infirmary. Hermione was quietly directing the house-elves to make the beds and set some food for the guests. She saw Courtney stiffen and sit up, looking at her father, "You were right," she said in a pained voice, "you were right. You said this world would hurt me, you said it would. You were right! I don't want it anymore Daddy, please, take me home!" she begged him.

Hermione held her breath. She knew, instinctively, that Courtney denying her magical heritage was not the solution here. She desperately hoped that David could see that as well. But she didn't hold out much hope, given what she knew of David Barnes.

David felt a lump rise in his throat. It was starting now. He knew it would come to this. Courtney was giving him what he had wanted, a chance to remove her from all of this. He had never wanted her there in the first place and they both knew why. He wanted to take her right then and leave the school. None of them would ever come back; they would leave it behind forever.

But…

Something stopped him; he just couldn't say it.

He just held Courtney closer and didn't answer.

The next morning, Percy Weasley, visited the Barnes' and offered his condolences. He assured them that there would be a full investigation and then left, quite hurriedly. David started laughing, almost hysterically. He left the room so as not to disturb his children, went into the hallway, and let his laughs run their course as a few tears ran their course as well. Then he sat down back against the worn stones and closed his eyes. He needed to think and this was the first alone time he had had.

Unfortunately, it was interrupted just moments later. Footsteps echoed in the nearly empty hallway. The slowed and stopped as the individual got nearer.

"Mr. Barnes?" the voice asked tentatively.

David scrunched his face up as he opened his eyes to squint at Sirius Black. The man had a concerned expression as he put out a hand to help David up.

David swiftly stood, ignoring the outstretched hand and entered the room, closing the door firmly behind him.

Hermione stood, stretching. They had decided to continue with the presentations and were trying to fit the students whose projects had been canceled the day before into the remaining time. She needed to be there for them, though she would much rather stay here at Albus' bedside. She gently pushed a lock of the now thin and straggly white hair off his brow. He had awoken once yesterday after the initial heart attack and then once again this morning. However, according to the specialists who had been in the evening, he was very weak. His heart had been badly strained and the cells themselves were sluggish. It wasn't pumping oxygenated blood properly. What was more his lungs seemed to be having problems exchanging oxygen as well. They had told Poppy, who had then told a few staff members Hermione included, that if he didn't start responding to their treatments soon he would probably slip into a coma and pass on in a short time.

It was grim news, and coming on the heels of Kathryn Barnes' death…. Hermione sighed and quietly gathered her things. When she had heard Courtney's declaration the night before, she had been afraid that David Barnes would simply take her and leave. When he hadn't answered, she had been relieved, though not completely. He could still make that decision.

She walked out of the room and into the main wing of the infirmary. Albus had been moved earlier and in a few hours, she suspected the arrangements would be made to take Kathryn's body. She shivered slightly. She did not think particularly highly of David Barnes, but she did truly feel sorry for his loss and the position he was now in. She didn't want to imagine how she would feel if Ron were to die.

As she walked out of the infirmary, she came face to face with an upset Sirius.

"Are you okay?" she asked concerned.

Sirius sighed and shrugged. "On my way here I found David Barnes in the hallway outside his rooms. He…he doesn't like me—that much is obvious. Has been since I first went to their house in August. But…I'm afraid that he hates me now. I think it might be possible that he blames me for Kathryn's death," this seemed to trouble Sirius greatly.

"Why would he think that?" Hermione asked slowly, trying to think of a reason.

Sirius shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, "I don't know. Maybe because I was the one who went to their house and introduced the wizarding world? I mean, I know how when you grieve you make all sorts of connections like that which in reality don't make sense."

Hermione nodded slowly and then spoke to him, "I don't know Sirius. Maybe you should try and talk to him. You could certainly help him deal with this."

Sirius nodded. Arabella had died two years before, the fact that it had been expected after a long illness had not made it any easier. "But… I don't know Hermione. To me it feels more personal. I mean it feels like…like there is more than Kathryn's death behind this. Like…" Sirius struggled to figure out what it had felt like when David had looked at him with hatred, "like I had already done something to him."

Hermione snapped to attention at that and stared at him as she connected the pieces in her head. "Oh my…Merlin's beard!" she said in a shocked whisper, "But it all makes sense!" she said in breathless wonder.

"Hermione?" Sirius asked confused.

"I…I'm sorry Sirius, I…just realized something," with that she ran down the hall.

Hermione ran all the way to the faculty lounge and there she collapsed onto a couch. She was breathing hard and it had nothing to do with her running. Her heart was pounding as the realization sunk in.

David Barnes was Harry Potter. It seemed unbelievable. But it made sense! Why else would David act the way he did? Why else would Harry write to Courtney and give her his WWW share? Why else would David Barnes have such a strong dislike of Sirius? Other little things she had previously not noticed came to her mind. Courtney was much more clumsy than Harry had ever been, but she had some of his mannerisms about her.

She felt her eyes water as she realized the implications of all of this. Poppy's words from the night before came back to her.

They don't know what they can do. No treatments are working to relieve the stress that is still on his heart. They don't even know what caused this attack in the first place. Albus has always been in such good health. And…the nurse had paused briefly I am afraid that he knows why it happened, but he would not say when he was awake. I think he knows what needs to be done to help him, but he won't say. The nurse had allowed tears of frustration to fall. The news had been upsetting to them all.

Albus had to know about David. It was the only explanation! But how long had he known? Albus has always been in such good health. Poppy's words repeated in her mind. But Albus had been sick a month ago. Her knowledge of Oaths was rather limited. She frantically tried to remember everything she knew about them.

Albus' Oath to Harry was that neither he nor the school would contact him. However, that Oath was hinged on knowing contact. Albus had to have figured it out before the school had written letters to the parents inviting them to Hogwarts. That was why he had become ill. The Oath had obviously exacted a price from Albus for infringing on the Oath. She reviewed in her mind the events surrounding Albus' collapse. He had personally asked someone to contact David or Harry directly. He had almost asked Sirius, who was bound by his own Oath as well as Albus'. He had realized that he couldn't do that and had asked the first non-Hogwarts person he had seen. Fred. Although Fred was bound by the Ministry Oath it was better than Albus asking someone covered under the Hogwarts Oath.

I can't approach Harry. Hermione realized suddenly. She herself was covered under the Oath Albus swore to Harry and with the state he was currently in…she was not about to risk hurting him. But that caused a problem of its own, how could she, the one in charge of presentations, not at least talk to the man?

She was still sitting there a few minutes later when Remus came to fetch her to the resumed presentations.

That morning David was busy making arrangements for the funeral. He had notified Kathryn's family the day before. The funeral would take place on the following day. After he had completed what was required he retired to the rooms where they were staying and spent most of the day in solitude. Courtney kept herself occupied, only interrupting her father a few times. Michael required a little bit more attention but once they had a house-elf there to help David was once again left to himself.

He spent most of the day sitting in the main room staring out the window, trying to figure out what he should do.

He had been pushing all of this back for sixteen years. He had buried it and never thought about it, never dealt with it. Then when Courtney had received her letter he had refused to deal with it. He had ignored her, ignored what was happening in his life. Then she had written to Harry and he had responded.

But he still hadn't dealt with it. He still tried to pretend that he knew nothing about the wizarding world, that he was not and had never been involved in the wizarding world. He had tried his hardest not to think about any of it.

And now it all blows up in his face. And Kathryn was dead. She couldn't help him this time.

He took a deep breath and buried his head in his hands. What was he going to do?

The next morning the Barnes' left the castle along with Fred and Megan Weasley to attend the funeral. There were a large number of people attending—Kathryn's family, many of her co-workers, old friends, and even a few students whom she had taught the year before while a teacher had been on maternity leave.

David couldn't bring himself to speak at the funeral and so he just sat and listened, staring at the casket.

It was over fairly quickly and David and the children stood there as many people came and offered their condolences. Kathryn's parents and siblings then invited the Barnes to have lunch with them. It was a quiet affair in which David explained softly that he didn't know what he was going to do, but that he had taken a month long leave of absence from the hospital.

The Taylors offered to take the children for a little while, but David politely declined. A few hours later they parted. David and the children met back with Megan and Fred who took them back to Hogwarts.

Courtney retreated to her room and went to sleep, as did Michael. David was restlessly trying to figure out how to keep himself occupied when a knock came at the door.

He opened it to reveal Megan Weasley. He invited her in and they sat down.

"Do you know what you are going to do yet?" she asked softly.

David shook his head.

"I know you don't like the wizarding world, and this happening doesn't make it any easier. Hermione told me what Courtney said. Have you thought about how you are going to answer?"

David stood and turned to the window without answering. After a few minutes he spoke, without turning, "How did you get involved in this world?"

Megan sat back in her seat, "Both my parents and my two siblings were killed in a Death Eater attack in 1997. Death Eater attacked me but before he could kill me the Ministry showed up. Fred stunned the one who attacked me and got me to safety. I was sixteen. I had no family left. My mother's parents were killed in a plane crash a long time ago and Dad's parents were too ill to have a teenager in their home again. Molly and Arthur took me in. I lived with them until I married Fred."

David was now looking closely at Megan, "How did you embrace the world that destroyed your life?" She could tell he was struggling to keep his voice even.

Megan was silent for a moment. She knew that it was not the right time to lecture him about misplaced blame, the heart of the matter was that he had problems accepting the wizarding world.

She stood up and walked towards him. "I embraced it because I loved Fred. I loved what his family did for me. They helped me when I needed it. I was bitter at first; I blamed the wizarding world as a whole. Then I discovered that I couldn't let myself be bitter and angry if I wanted peace in my life. I needed peace."

David looked at her and said softly, "Thank you for telling me."

Megan nodded and then left.

That evening Courtney approached her father, "Daddy, I want to go home."

David sighed, he knew he had to answer this time. "Courtney, sit with me."

She sat down beside him on the couch and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I know you are hurting and you think the best thing to do is to leave it all behind. That is what I did Courtney, I ran away from it all and buried it. But all of this is a part of who I am," tears started forming in his eyes, "It is a part of who you are as well. Your powers are a part of you. You cannot shut them out; you cannot pretend they aren't there. You have made it all a part of you and you have made yourself a part pf this world. You cannot hide from it without hiding from yourself. I've hidden from my self for sixteen years Courtney, and it isn't worth it. I can't hide from myself anymore, I can't hide from the past, and I don't want you to make the same mistake I did."

Courtney started crying and hugged her father, partly in relief and partly in despair as to how to handle all this.

Though David meant what he had said, it was still hard to get his mind and heart in agreement. Before he could do this, he needed to see one person and ask a few questions.

Many Ministry officials had contacted him promising that there would be an investigation, that he had their condolences, that the proper steps would be taken, yada, yada, yada. Minerva McGonagall had come as well saying much the same things.

But David needed to speak with Albus Dumbledore and ask how exactly this had been allowed to happen.

He knew that Dumbledore had had a major heart attack two days ago, the same day Kathryn had died. He walked quickly to the infirmary prepared to battle the nurse for a chance to talk with him.

It took a good thirty minutes to convince Madam Pomfrey to let him see the headmaster. He finally managed it by reminding the nurse that he was a doctor and though heart disease was not his specialty, he knew how to act around an ill patient.

The late evening sun filtered across the room as David walked in. Albus had been waking more often the past day, though his condition was not improving very much. He was awake at the moment and his eyes widened as he saw David.

He weakly moved to sit up, but couldn't quite make it. "Don't strain yourself." David murmured, and sat down. Albus laid back down, exhausted from that little exertion. He closed his eyes briefly trying to get his breath and then opened them to look at David.

"How did it happen?" David asked quietly.

Albus opened his mouth to answer, but a harsh cough disrupted him. It subsided after a few minutes but it had worn Albus out completely. He quickly began to sink into sleep again.

Irrationally, David's anger flared, "No! I need answers here!" he demanded standing.

Albus struggled to open his eyes and creaked out, "Release me,"

"What?"

"Oath…Harry…" and then he fell asleep again.

David stared for a moment in shock and then he quickly left the room.

Author's notes:

Wow, this chapter covers a lot. But, David is now coming around to deal with everything. It will still not be easy. Even though he has decided he is not going to leave it all completely, he has yet to decided what he is going to do.

This chapter took a while to write, but thank you everyone for all your reviews!