This chapter has been edited.

Possession

Chapter IX - What Really Happened
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Dumbledore sighed softly as Tom disappeared and half the Auror's collapsed. Time had certainly mellowed his driving ambition but he was still as dangerous as ever.

"Was that really..?" One of the younger Auror's asked the question, trailing off as he received glares from his companions.

"Yes, that was really him," Alastor confirmed gruffly as he cast one or two charms on the parchment that had been left behind. Once he was satisfied it was safe he summoned it before softly cursing. It was a letter, sealed with the Dark Mark and labelled in neat red script, 'HP'.

"I think you'd better see this," the old Auror murmured passing the letter to Dumbledore as an Auror team stormed into the house, ready to take on any traps or ambushes waiting for them.

Dumbledore read the letter, his blue eyes grim, their customary sparkle dulled by the significance of the events. After a moment he shook his head, refolding the letter and placing it in his robes. "It at least explains how he got past the security here," he said before following the Auror's in.

"Albus..?" Remus questioned not content with no explanation as Snuffles nipped him before turning brown eyes to glare at the Headmaster.

"There were spells on the letter that let Voldemort see the Warding in the house," Moody explained. "Mr Potter is far stronger that he looks. He'll be all right until we can find him. For now though, Mr Lupin, I believe we need to know the truth about the failed protection or not."

Dumbledore stood in the centre of the smallest bedroom, looking round through narrowed eyes. There was blood on the floor and the furniture bore signs of scuff marks. Hedwig hooted at him from her cage but the poor bird was so thin and untidy that he almost didn't recognise her.

"My God..!" Remus murmured as he stepped into the room, covering his nose with one hand.

"What do you smell?" Dumbledore asked as he flicked his wand, closing the door. Arthur, Minerva, Moody, Remus, Sirius and himself were all that was needed here. The Auror's would just cause further complications.

"Sex..." Remus said quietly. "Recent... very recent."

The Headmaster of Hogwarts showed no surprise or any reaction as he nodded. "Anything else?"

"Blood." The Werewolf gulped and forced himself to remain detached. He had to do this or else they might never find Harry. "There is a really faint scent of recent blood but the main concentration is about a day old." He pointed towards the patches on the floor. "Those I'd say. There's nothing else out of the ordinary except a dry snake odour but that's to be expected." Beside him Sirius nodded in dog form, looking anxiously at the door.

"Thank you, Remus," Dumbledore nodded gravely before turning to Alastor. "What can you see?"

The man's magical eye was going haywire, trying to look everywhere at once. "There's a lot of static here. I guess the boy's magic or his Lordships was very diffuse and the house spells aren't helping," the scarred man reported quietly before concentrating. "There's the echoes of 'Confu', 'Easasum', some major Healing charms and a... 'Obliviate fractus?'"

Dumbledore just stood there. "Obliviate fractus?"

"Quite a powerful one."

"The walls have memories..." The Headmaster murmured, repeating Voldemort's parting words. "I taught him that spell myself."

"Albus?" There was a worried note in Minerva's voice.

The moment passed and Dumbledore returned to his usual self, his eyes twinkling weakly. "Everyone, please stand back," he gestured with his wand, locking the door in the same movement. "I think it's time we knew what happened here. Revisum hours forty eight!"

Sirius transformed, giving Dumbledore a very dark look before he was consumed with the vision the Headmaster's charm had invoked.

A misty vision of Harry sleeping peacefully appeared and Albus nodded before flicking his wand. Harry was struggling, obviously in the grip of a nightmare before he woke up and looked outside. A black eagle hawk delivered his letter they watched transfixed as Harry read it once with a sceptical expression. After the boy had finished though he'd frowned obviously considering the letter and its contents before he froze, a look of horror on his features.

A moment later, Harry had stuffed the letter under the bed before he ran to the door. His Aunt appeared and Sirius hissed at the woman who said something to Harry and he left. Dumbledore again flicked his wand. Harry entered the room again, carrying a glass of water and a slice of bread. The boy split the bread, giving half to Hedwig before he sat on the bed, nibbling his bread and sipping the water, a look of apprehension plastered on his features.

Harry sat there for quite some time before his Uncle had burst into the room. Even though the image was only spectral the rage that was evident in the older man seemed excessive. Sirius snarled and Remus grabbed his arm as Harry got one word out before the older man had hit him.

"I'll kill him!" Sirius snarled as the man continued to beat his God-child. "I'll kill him!"

Eventually it was over and Vernon left Harry crumpled on the floor. Blood pooled below Harry and he passed out.

"That's enough," Sirius said quietly.

"Sirius," Dumbledore turned towards him, his eyes grim once more. "I'm afraid that's not everything. And we have to continue this so that we may help Harry and while this is horrific, we are going to have to delve further into the past to understand what Tom was referring to. 'The walls have memories' and only they know why the Obliviate was cast."

"This had better be worth it."

Dumbledore flicked his wand again and they watched as Harry struggled to his bed dragging himself on it again before falling unconscious again. Dumbledore pursed his lips as he willed the image forward and as expected the next thing was Tom Riddle entering the room. The Dark Lord had looked murderous; eyes split and skin almost looking like it was scaled. After murmuring orders to the Death Eaters who appeared in the door he had gone to Harry.

Sirius watched, flabbergasted, as the man who had wanted nothing more that to kill Harry had raised his wand muttering spells that had eased Harry's pain. It was obvious that what ever spells the Dark Lord had said had calmed Harry since his pained expression became normal and he slipped into peaceful sleep. Sirius almost felt thankful to the Dark Lord, almost... But then Voldemort had pulled the covers off Harry and shed his own outer layers caressing the boy and kissing him...

"No..." Sirius moaned. "He didn't... He can't have..." He couldn't say anymore because it was obvious that the Dark Lord had. Even as a human he could smell the odour of sex. And it became obvious that in some way Harry reciprocated.

Dumbledore didn't let the image continue as he destroyed the spell with a sharp swish of his wand. The old man had sighed tiredly. "Harry wasn't in his right mind, Sirius. Remember that. That was the 'Confu' spell was for. I'd wager Harry would have fought tooth and nail if he'd of had any idea what was happening. But now I'm afraid we will have to continue."

"Albus, are you sure?" Minerva asked the question gravely.

"I'm sure, Minerva. I know Tom well enough to know that he wouldn't have said what he did without some knowledge. We have to know what he knows."

"You don't have to go all the way back."

"What is this?" Remus asked.

"It's a spell like the one we just saw," Moody began, "except Albus will take the image back years rather than hours."

"You can't!"

"We don't have a choice. I'll be alright."

"What!"

McGoganall fixed Dumbledore with a stare that quite clearly said that she though he was pushing to far as she explained it to Remus, Sirius and Arthur. "The charm to bring back the recent past is draining but the charm to bring back years past is not taught because it requires ridiculous amounts of energy. It's usually only done by a group working together..."

"But we don't have time for that," Albus broke in quietly, "and I have the feeling that we have to know."

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "All right," he said eventually. "If we don't know, Voldemort's only going to twist everything."

Dumbledore nodded sagely. "Thank you. This will not be easy - to cast or to witness but you must remember that everything we see will allow us to help Harry. He endured this, so can we."

The aged wizard raised his wand, his eyes suddenly showing his age. I'm sorry, Harry, he thought before murmuring the words. "Revisum years octatifium."

There was a surge of power and the whole room was covered with wavy ghostly images but no people. The room was filled with clutter and despite the seriousness of the situation, Arthur looked around wide-eyed at the many and varied Muggle toys that filled the room. The only things that hadn't moved were the bed and the largest cupboard.

"I'm going to go quickly, unless something happens. I'm not sure how long I can hold this."

The others in the room nodded, slightly awed. Even with their knowledge of Dumbledore's strength, it was impressive seeing it.

The image seemed to blur somewhat but everything remained identifiable and then people began coming and going from the room. Sirius easily recognised Petunia cleaning and Dudley playing but those were all normal. It wasn't until Vernon entered the room dragging Harry that he felt a chill pass through him. This wasn't right.

The image slowed slightly and it wasn't long before another man entered the room. Dumbledore slowed the image completely to normal time as the man approached Harry. "Endure it, for him," he warned the others again, looking sternly at both Sirius and Remus.

Harry looked at the man, seven year old emerald eyes wide. When the man got too close the boy lashed out, kicking and clawing but to no avail. The man just caught his hands, gripping both thin wrists in his large hand and he had then pushed Harry back, the man's other hand ripping away the boy's cloths. Harry had screamed then but the man had just pushed a wad of fabric into his mouth and had appeared to laugh.

Finally it was over and Harry lay slumped on the bed as the man dressed and left. A few moments after the man had left, Harry had pulled the cloth from his mouth and had looked around for anything that was still wearable from his clothes. Vernon's head had appeared at the door a moment later and the man had thrown some fresh cloths to the boy.

Dumbledore looked grim and a sheen of sweet had appeared on his brow. With a determined flick the scene blurred. "I'm going to skip a couple of years..."

The image solidified again as another man left a crying Harry although this time the boy was a lot older, closer to eleven although they knew that couldn't be the case. The abuse couldn't have continued after his Hogwarts Letter had arrived. They would have known.

Sirius bit his lip as he continued to watch feeling sicker with every passing moment. His expression was shared, in its own way by all of them but they had to witness this, for Harry.

Vernon came in after a moment and for an instant it looked like he was just going to throw new cloths at Harry but the fat man had checked his watch and then had advanced on Harry. From the door there was a flicker of motion and Sirius glanced over to see the obese Dudley standing there watching.

When it was over again the fat man left, sharing a few words with his son that they both laughed at.

Dumbledore's eyes were narrowed in concentration and he was looking fierce, nothing like the kindly old man he seemed to be. With another flick of his wand the scene again changed, this time to show two men with Harry both dressed in what were obviously wizards robes.

"There," the Headmaster said, waving his free hand, freezing the image. "Anyone recognise them."

"That one's not human," Both Moody and Remus pointed to the taller man while Arthur frowned. There was something familiar about one of the men...

Dumbledore let the image move forward a little and the man took off his hood. "Ah... A vampire... Xeoaph, I believe," Dumbledore murmured.

The image once again moved and the Vampire raised his hands, weaving visible lines of magic. The energy centred around Harry before it seemed to seep into him. His sleeping image frowned but then became peaceful again and the two men turned to leave.

"No, freeze it!" It was Arthur who shouted the request. "I know him!" Mr Weasley pointed to the man accompanying the Vampire.

"Who is he?"

"He's a trader... Has some dealing with the Ministry dealing with magical artefacts... His name... Hep... Hepras..? Ah, that's it, Heprah Yusia."

Dumbledore nodded and let the charm fade.

"I'll kill them," Sirius said quietly.

Dumbledore tapped the side of his nose, looking at Sirius. "I am sorry, Sirius, more sorry than you can imagine but I think it would be better if we brought them to justice. The 'Revisum' charm isn't widely used but it is admissible and there are clauses in the system that allow for Muggles to be tried in our world."

Sirius trembled. "Punishment?"

"They'd get the Kiss," Moody spoke up. "There'd be no question about that, Harry Potter or not, Muggle or not, they'd get it."

"And they'd deserve it," Arthur spoke, still looking sick. He had seven children and the thought that any of them... that any child... should have to go through that...

Remus looked at Dumbledore closely. "Why didn't we know?"

"The Elder Vampire Xeoaph, who has been on the Ministry's Most Wanted list for centuries, cast the Obliviate. And as you well know, Vampiric magic is almost impossible to sense."

"So how did Voldemort find out about it?"

"I'd imagine through Harry's blood but that's not the issue here. We have to start the search for Harry."

"All right," Sirius growled before turning back into Snuffles but Snuffles hackles were raised and his lips were pulled back, revealing long white teeth.

"Let's go."

The tone was sombre as they filed out.

Remus paused at the door, letting Hedwig take one last look at the room. "We'll find you Harry," he whispered. "We won't fail again."

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