Harry Potter and the Soul of the Serpent
Chapter 2
Another Kind of Trust
Standard Disclaimers Apply
Fate was cruel, or so Harry had heard. What he had not been prepared for was the number of times it would deal him a losing hand. Harry walked bitterly up the path between the perfectly manicured flower beds of 4 Privet Drive, eyes glued to the ground, and felt a cynical hilarity at the fact that he could identify with it. He knew what it was like to be walked on your whole life and not appreciated for being there. Sometimes he was made to feel like the wizarding would crumble and fall without him there to support it.
Such thoughts should be far from the head of a 15 year old boy, but in this circumstance it was not to be so. Harry Potter was special, in more ways than even the greatest wizards of the age could say. His depressed thoughts were brought to a halt, however, as he came to the front door. The confusion on his face was interrupted by a flicker of fear that was evident only from the sliver of light pouring onto the front porch through the crack in the unlatched door.
A small shiver rolled down his spine and he wished for the comforting presence of his wand. The door creaked as he pushed it slowly open and stepped over the threshold. He could hear the news on the television in the lounge room, but there were no clanking dishes from Aunt Petunia making dinner, no deep rumble of uncle Vernon's deep voice. Harry processed this in seconds and knew, beyond a shadow of doubt, that 4 Privet Drive was no longer safe for him. He bent down to pick up his wand, vaguely thinking that that wasn't where he had dropped it. Perhaps Uncle Vernon had moved it.
His silent footsteps carried him to the dining room. His cousin lay slumped over the table.
"Dudley?"
Even in death his cousin would not stop taunting him, as his face stared up at him unmercifully. It was a scene that would haunt Harry for longer than he cared to admit. He swallowed, gripped his wand tighter and moved on.
The Dursleys prided themselves on being prim and proper, the height of respectability, and Harry wondered if they would care that he, the bane of their existence, their curse, and indirectly the cause of their deaths, was witnessing them in all of their deathly indignity. For there they were, sprawled in front of him in their sitting room, looking as though hey had simply keeled over in fright.
But it was the other two occupants of the room that had Harry's attention.
It is a sad world when a teenage boy can come home and find his family dead and think to himself that it was something he had been waiting for, so much so that it wasn't a surprise at all. Although his heart was pounding in his chest, and he was breathing rather quickly, to any viewer it would seem that he was merely surveying as ordinary a thing as a classroom, rather than a murder scene. But that was the world in which he lived, and Harry ignored the strange sense of despair and pain that stabbed through his heart, and turned instead to observe the two dead wizards. They had been caught unawares, it seemed, and had not even had time to remove their wands from their cloaks. Harry barely had time to wonder what they were even doing at his house, when the air was filled with cracking sounds, and Aurors and ministry officials appeared out of thin air. As they did so, Harry felt a strange surge of triumph that had nothing whatsoever to do with his emotions.
Harry noticed an Auror heading his way.
"Harry, I'm Alan Edwards. I'm an Auror with the Ministry. What happened here?"
"Death Eaters," Harry replied. The Auror paled as he saw the bodies of the two wizards. Within seconds the rest of the house was buzzing with activity as witched and wizards began to work.
"My cousin- he's dead too. He's in the dining room." Harry gestured back the way he had come.
"Why in Merlin's name were they here?" Alan asked, referring to the two wizards.
Harry shook his head in bewilderment.
"I have no idea. No one's ever been here before."
Harry was saved from answering further questions however, by the arrival of Dumbledore. He strode up to Harry and clasped his shoulder.
"Are you all right?" His voice was sharp.
"Yes," Harry replied. No. He pushed the thought away.
"Thankyou for looking after Harry, Alan. Harry will be coming with me now. If you wish to speak with him you may contact him through me."
"Now just wait a minute, Dumbledore. You can't just take him. We're in the middle of an investigation here!" Alan snapped. He was about to add more when he was interrupted by a cold voice.
"Ah, Albus, I thought I might find you here, coming to Potter's rescue."
Dumbledore's hand dropped from Harry's shoulder as the man approached.
"Lucius," Dumbledore greeted him calmly. Lucius Malfoy looked as regal as ever, nose held high and dressed in dark billowing robes.
"Dumbledore, I fail to see why you must be forever following Potter around," he sneered.
"And I, Lucius, fail to see why you are here at all," replied Dumbledore politely. Malfoy smiled coldly.
"I was simply alerted that there had been an… incident, shall we say, at the Potter residence. Naturally this raised my interest…" The Auror seemed to have had enough and turned to Dumbledore.
"If I may just take the boy for a moment…"
"No," said Dumbledore firmly.
Harry looked up in surprise.
"I'm afraid I must insist, Alan. It is no longer safe for Harry here."
"Oh no," said Malfoy smugly. "Oh no, no, no. I'm afraid I must insist, Dumbledore. Coincidentally, this afternoon I received permission from our…recently departed Minister, to oversee any and all incidents relating to Harry Potter. As of today I, and my team, are officially the "Harry Potter taskforce," if you will. And it seems this matter needs to be investigated a little more thoroughly."
Taskforce? What the hell was Malfoy going on about? And why wasn't he in jail?
Harry's anger grew to an impossible level, and he fought to remain calm as he spoke.
"I believe I get a say in this," he said angrily, "as it is my life. As upsetting as this is, it's nothing I can't handle by myself, and I don't need anyone telling me otherwise!"
Malfoy sneered down at him.
"You would do well to mind your manners, Potter. Unfortunately for you, suspects do not get the privilege of deciding anything."
"You think I did this?" Harry hissed. He let out a cynical chuckle. "I thought that was your job."
Dumbledore spoke up quickly.
"Harry, mind what you say. I will sort this out."
"No, Dumbledore," said Malfoy. "I will sort this out. There is still the matter of five dead bodies whether Potter is here or not, and he is most certainly safe with all of the Aurors running around. Now Edwards," he said, addressing the Auror, who was still looking annoyed, "I find the circumstances surrounding this case highly suspicious. Do you not find it strange that although Mr Potter claims that this atrocity was committed by Death Eaters, there is no sign of the Dark Mark, and nor does there seem to have been any kind of a struggle. Obviously the victims were sitting with someone they did not expect to kill them."
"That's all very well, Lucius, however we have only just begun our investigation. It could have been anyone, and I still have yet to hear Harry's story," Alan snapped.
"Very well. Let us hear it," said Dumbledore.
Harry silently fumed at his predicament.
"I had a fight with my Uncle, and I left the house. I came back and they were dead, and those two were here," said Harry, gesturing to the two wizards. "That's all."
"I find that hard to believe, Potter. After all, there are wards surrounding your house that went off only minutes ago. We arrived as soon as we could after that. Quite…unfortunate timing for you, if I do say so." Malfoy's voice left no misunderstanding as to what he thought about Harry.
"Well, there is only one way to prove that Harry is innocent, Lucius, and I'm sure you will agree to it. Harry, give me your wand," ordered Dumbledore.
"What?"
"It is a simple charm, Harry. You have seen it before. It will determine the last charm to be performed with your wand."
"Oh- yeah, right. Here."
Harry handed his wand to his headmaster and watched as he their two wands end to end.
"Priori Incantatem," he muttered.
An evil smile appeared on Malfoy's face as Harry's wand emitted a faint green flash and an echoed voice. Harry registered shock on Dumbledore's face.
"Harry?"
"I can explain! When I left, I dropped my wand in the hall before I left the house. Obviously whoever did this found it and used it!"
Harry realised he was quickly losing ground. Lucius Malfoy looked like Christmas had come early. He sneered.
"A likely story. Though no worse than your other tales, I suppose. Alan, I believe we have found our perpetrator."
Alan nodded decisively, his face ashen. Harry supposed he didn't look much better, as Alan stepped forward.
"Harry Potter, I hereby place you under arrest for the murder of Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley, Percy Weasly, and Cornelius Fudge."
A/N: Apologies if this chapter was a bit boring, but I needed it to get some of the facts out.
Chapter 3: Judgement