Chapter 10

Questions and Answers

Harry started to stir. He had no idea of the time or how long he'd been asleep, but the one thing he did remember was how he had gotten to sleep and he felt a little ashamed, but… better. Harry knew he had a temper, but he couldn't believe he'd done that. Only once before had he ever done anything like that, and that too had been in the sole company of Albus Dumbledore.

Albus Dumbledore, his knew guardian alongside Remus. Harry couldn't think too deeply into it or he would probably start again. He finally opened his eyes and took in the room, yet again. He was indeed in the same room he had woken up in god knew how long ago, this time though, Dumbledore was sleeping in the chair next to Harry's bed. Harry looked at him once and decided not to wake him yet. He wanted to get dressed and get out of here.

He threw the covers off him self and grabbed his clothes. As he got dressed, wondering how they had gotten through intact, Harry thought over things. What was going to happen now? He had confessed to everything to the officer in his temper. He had told them he was the one who was attacked, that it was him that Voldemort was chasing after. Harry wasn't sure how much Dumbledore could do. If he erased his memory, would it do any good? The whole of Britain and Europe probably knew what was going on, so everywhere would be on the alert.

He just wanted to run, wanted to get away from the press and their prying. He wanted to be back at Hogwarts getting ready for a game of Quiditch, doing homework in the common room with his two best friends, not being stuck in the muggle world where he had hardly any protection. Voldemort could find him at any point.

Harry stopped. How had Voldemort found Harry? Harry was supposed to be safe from him while he was at the Dursley's, the protection his mother gave him, although Voldemort had it now too, it was supposed to protect him from Voldemort. Harry made a mental note to ask Dumbledore. When

Harry turned around after tying his shoe laces up, Dumbledore was sat wide awake staring at Harry.

He smiled when he saw Harry. Harry returned the smile sitting back on the bed again.

"How are you feeling now, Harry?" His headmaster asked.

Harry thought about the question before answering his usual 'I'm fine'. He knew he wasn't ok, but physically he felt fine now. Letting out everything last… when ever it was seemed to have helped great deal.

"I feel better, actually" He answered. Then he thought of his question.

"Professor, how did Voldemort find me? I thought I was supposed to be protected while I was at the Dursley's. Doesn't that work any more?" He asked.

Dumbledore sat and seemed to be thinking about the question before answering his new young charge. He turned and looked at Harry with a small frown on his face

"Could he actually touch you, Harry? Was he actually on your family's property?"

Harry thought about the question. Harry remembered the Death Eaters and Dementors and Voldemort, and how they had stayed… at the top of the drive. They hadn't technically stepped foot on the Dursley's property. They hadn't been able to, there was a barrier stopping them from entering the Dursley's grounds. Fawkes had managed to stand on the barrier and drop his father's wand through to him. Yet another question for him to ask.

Then Harry thought of something else. Normally the Dementors affected him worse than they had that night. He hadn't thought about it then as he'd had other things to think about, but he had only felt them when they had turned up, when it got colder…

"No… they didn't they all stayed at the top of the drive. Voldemort, the Death Eaters, the

Dementors all of them. Something was blocking them, a barrier…ward, I'm not sure but they couldn't come any closer than the top of the drive. Voldemort hit what ever it was a it hurt me, but other than that…" Harry trailed off.

Dumbledore nodded regarding Harry, or maybe he wasn't. Harry had stopped trying to decipher Dumbledore and what his actions meant. The he spoke up.

"It is my belief that it was the media that lead Voldemort to you" He said finally.

Harry frowned. How could they have done that? Then he remembered the press turning up at his door after all of the interviews and the description of him being announced. Dumbledore followed Harry's train of thought, obviously thinking the same as Harry.

"Yes, Voldemort used the people he hates so much to find the person he hates so much, sort of ironic, really. Voldemort bid his Death Eater to go to the muggle press and release an interview, knowing that now everyone believes you, people would stick up for you. Someone would undoubtedly describe you, or have a photo of you ready for showing what a hero you are to our world, they would have gladly shown you are not who Voldemort's followers described you to be"

The Old Professor paused, regarding Harry over the top of his half moon glass.

"After the footage of the train station fight, one or more of your neighbours must have recognised you as the one being targeted, put two and two together and phoned the media. They arrive and show where you live, all Voldemort has to do is wait for the muggles to show where you live and he can then find you. A brilliant and simple plan, one I admit, I had not foresaw. I seem to be missing a lot lately" Dumbledore finished, lowering his head to stare at his laced fingers.

Harry processed the information and it all made sense. Voldemort wouldn't have been able to find Harry because of all the protections of magic, so he had used a muggle method. Harry could see the irony, and would have laughed had it not been him nearly killed again.

"But why do that? Why go to all that trouble just to find where I lived? He's exposed himself to the muggle world, so they're wise to him now. Isn't this going to cause him just as much damage as it

will us?" Harry asked frowning.

"There are two reasons I believe he did this. One, I do not believe he cares anymore. He believes he will win this war, he believes muggles are not a force to be reckoned with, so why should he worry about the repercussions of his acts. The second and the one I know to be true, is that he couldn't never find out where you lived unless someone actually pointed to your house and told him that you lived there. As hardly anyone in the wizarding world knows where you live, I didn't think it would be a problem. Again, I was mistaken, the one thing I did not see happening was reporters crowding round your front door and letting all the nation know where you lived"

The one thing that struck Harry as being funny was the people Voldemort hated most, were the people making his life easier, and the very same people who Harry was supposed to be saving, were making his life extremely difficult. He left out a sigh and looked at the wizened old wizard sitting in the chair staring at Harry, as though he were his grandson. He just couldn't believe that Dumbledore was now official his guardian! To quickly get off that subject he changed his thought path

completely, to a more sombre thought…

"How are the Dursley's"

Harry asked barely caring, but still feeling guilty and responsible.

Dumbledore chuckled slightly.

"They are fine. They knew nothing had happened until the police turned up at their door asking them to identify you. It was lucky I was there, otherwise they may not have claimed to know you" Dumbledore smiled.

Harry was glad he found it funny, he didn't. Harry looked away. He couldn't believe they could be so…malicious, still he didn't care, he would be going to his real home soon enough. Then another thought occurred to him.

"Where were you that night? Where were the Order?" Harry asked, looking at Dumbledore, sounding forsaken. Then he remembered the barrier Voldemort had said he'd erected to keep them all out, but Harry let the question hang in the air.

"We had gained knowledge that Voldemort had found your residence. The Order sent Fawkes to me to tell me what had happened. I unfortunately was in France at the time, and could not get back swiftly enough. The Barrier Voldemort had erected was powerful enough to keep the Order out.

When I arrived, the police and ambulance were already there and you were about to be shipped off to hospital. I thought it best to leave you where you were, for if I had sprung you from the ambulance, there would probably have a been a kidnap conspiracy to go along with the assassination attempt"

Harry smiled, it sounded like something the press would do. Harry had lived in the muggle world long enough to here some of the things muggles could come up with. There was just one last question Harry wanted, no, needed answered.

"Sir, why did you send me…"

"…Your father's wand" Dumbledore finished off for him. He nodded.

"A thought occurred to me over the summer. Sirius has left me in charge of sorting out what needs to be sorted out" Dumbledore stopped and looked at Harry, checking he was ok, Harry thought. Obviously satisfied Harry wasn't going to go banana's again, he continued.

"That included all of his possessions, which happened to include your fathers wand. I have no idea how Sirius got your fathers wand, or why he did have it, but my assumption is that he explained all of this in the letter he wants you and only you to read" Dumbledore finished.

Harry sat in silence. He hadn't thought about what would happen now that Sirius was… It was something he didn't want to think about. Harry pushed it aside for later to let Dumbledore finish his explanation.

"I 'm not sure if your aware, but yours and your father's wand contain the same core, a phoenix feather"

Harry frowned.

"But, its mine and Voldemort's wand which share cores from the same phoenix" Harry said, half asking, half telling.

But Dumbledore was nodding.

"I know that, I meant to say that your wands both have a phoenix feather for its core, not that they are from the same phoenix. Any way, your father's wand, I had a theory that as the cores are the same, and phoenix cores seem to respond to you, that your father's wand might work for you. And that it also might do more, it might enhance your power and protection"

Dumbledore stared at Harry and Harry stared back. It made sense, and it had obviously worked, or at least done something. The Headmaster was carrying on.

"Your father died to protect you, Harry, like your mother. It is my belief that with this with your father's wand, your protection might once again be at full strength"

With all of his questions finally answered, one solitary thought clouded his mind now. Out. He wanted out of the hospital. As if reading his mind, Dumbledore smiled.

"Things are being arranged as we speak to have you released today. I have spoken to the doctor and as soon as he has checked you over you are free to go, though getting past that police office might not prove so easy" Dumbledore said beginning to frown.

"Couldn't you just Obliviate him?" Harry asked.

"That would be the easy option, but then it would seem suspicious that he has no knowledge of you being here, yet his superiors do. Even if I plant something in his memory, the will need a written statement from you…do not worry, Harry we will cross that bridge when we get to it" Dumbledore told him beginning to stand up.

As Dumbledore stood, the door opened with and Detective Sol walked in with an evil grin on his face.

"You should be careful about who, what, and where you talk about things" He said standing in front of the door, with two uniformed officers behind him.

"Now I've really had enough. I want you both down to the police station, and your lucky I'm not placing you under arrest. Obliviate, Death Eaters, Voldemort, Muggles ? I think you have got some explaining to do" He finished.