Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power

Usual Disclaimers apply, folks – They belong to J.K. Rowling but I like to twist the plots and play with their minds, but all in fun!

AN: Please review and thanks especially to those of you who have reviewed every chapter and added this story to your favorites list.

Chapter 26: Pressing Matters or Matters of the Press?

Breakfast the morning after the full moon was peaceful, well except for the odd glares that Professor Flitwick kept giving his plate and teacup, and Harry had high hopes the rest of the day would remain uneventful. At least until he had to go to the press conference at the Ministry at 4:00 p.m. At least they were no longer calling the blasted werewolf cure, 'Potter's Potion'; he couldn't stand that name. He was all for 'Lupin's Cure', after all, he had helped develop the cure specifically for Remus; everyone else was just a bonus. He couldn't stand knowing the excruciating the pain he had witnessed Remus go through the night Peter Pettigrew escaped, plagued the quiet man every full moon, and then the days it took for him to recover from transforming each month.

Severus was just finishing up an excellent mushroom omelet with grilled tomatoes when Albus leaned over to him and asked him to send Harry to his office right after breakfast. "Is there something wrong, Albus?" slightly concerned that Harry was already in trouble, again. Albus looked at his son with a twinkle in his eye and handed him the scroll of parchment that he had received from Minister Bones that morning.

Dear Headmaster,

I have been petitioned by several of the guilds to provide mastery testing and certification for Mr. Potter-Snape Dumbledore (Congratulations on the new son and grandson, by the way) since they feel his talents are being 'wasted' as a fifth year student at Hogwarts. The guilds that are particularly loud are the Potions, Transfiguration, and quite vociferously, the Dueling and Defense guild. Though I suspect the others won't be far behind.

Madame Marchbanks has looked through the educational rules and regulations and has found that Mr. Dumbledore must take O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s before he can submit for mastery testing, there are no rules in place for any exceptions. She has taken the liberty of scheduling Mr. Dumbledore's O.W.L.'s for next week starting on Monday the 22nd, and his N.E.W.T.'s for the first week in February, starting on Monday the 5th.

If this is not acceptable, I will be available to speak to you, your son, and your grandson after the press conference this afternoon. I would also like to extend an invitation to the three of you to join me tonight for dinner. I assure you, it will be a private one. I have many questions about the two weeks that Professor Snape-Dumbledore and Mr. Harry Potter-Snape-Dumbledore were missing.

Sincerely,

Amelia Bones

Minister for Magic

Severus looked at his father and then as one they turned to stare at Harry. The boy felt two men starring at him, and turning from his friends at the Gryffindor table he found two pairs of eyes on him; twinkling blue ones from his grandfather with a proud expression on his face, and coal black ones with an evil smirk on his father's face. With a bewildered expression, Harry mentally sent to Severus, 'What's wrong now, what did I do?'

Severus' smirk grew even more pronounced, 'What have you done now, boy?' Severus noted the pain and hurt that flitted across his son's face before a stoic mask slid into place, showing no emotion whatsoever. Severus knew that mask from his own face only too well, 'Harry, son… what did I say to upset you? What's wrong? I was only teasing you.'

Harry gave himself a mental shake and a kick in the bum, 'It's just what… Vernon …used to say, well, before he, umm…well, before he would beat me. And, well I know, … I know you aren't going to come and …break …bones and …throw me in a closet …without food for days, but, …what you said, it just… triggers the …memories.'

Severus stood up quickly and swept out of the Great Hall, robes billowing behind him, as he sent, 'Harry, come meet me now.' Harry had lost any appetite he had, and stood up to slowly walk out to the entrance hall. His father was waiting for him, and after making sure his son saw him and was aware of what he was doing, he wrapped him up in his long arms and held him. 'Let's go up to Albus' office now, can you take us, child?' He asked gently.

Without a word, the two, father and son, disappeared from sight. Albus had noticed the sudden flash of fear and then the total shutdown of expression on Harry's face, but had no idea what had happened to the child. He left through the rear door and hurried to his office so that he could fire call Severus and find out exactly what was wrong. He was surprised to find his two boys sitting on the couch in his office, a muscular, athletic six foot three Harry trying his best to curl up and sit on his father's lap, and Severus Snape, snarky git of the dungeons, letting him; speaking softly in his ear and lightly kissing the top of Harry's head while holding him tightly wrapped up in his arms.

Severus looked up at his father, worry evident in his eyes as he said simply, "I inadvertently triggered a flashback to the Dursleys with a phrase his Uncle used. Harry has spoken in the past with Rowena and Helga, but very little with me. He had given me his memories, so I understood, and we have never really talked over what happened. It always seemed there was so much else going on, we always put it off; and now, it appears, we no longer can. It is time to deal with Harry's past. We need to get rid of this baggage once and for all, so that Harry can move on from here."

Albus sat beside Severus and wrapped his arms around them both. "Harry, child, if your father gives you a calming potion, do you think you could show us what happened in a pensieve? We need to understand; just as much as you need to see that what they did to you was not right; you were never at fault. Looking at it in the pensieve helps you to analyze what went on better than just looking at your own memories. Can you help us to understand how to help you child?"

Harry nodded his head against his father's chest. He really didn't want to do this, but he knew he needed to finally get rid of all the doubt and worry that he really had done something to deserve the treatment that he had received all those years. Severus reached into his pocket and pulled out the emergency potions pouch that he now kept in all of his robes and enlarging it, selected a strong calming solution. He handed it to Harry, who recognized it, took off the cap and swallowed it down.

After a couple of minutes, he nodded again to his father and sat up, the potion not allowing him to feel embarrassed about sitting on Severus' lap. His grandfather had emptied out his pensieve and placed it on a small table in front of the three. Harry opened the padlocked door inside his mind and started taking out the worst memories he had of his time with the Dursleys. The ones he had never shared with anyone. The horrific ones that he didn't even admit to himself existed. His finger touched his temple and the silvery substance in the pensieve again and again.

With his grandfather and father holding him tightly, he touched his finger to the silvery substance and they were all pulled in.

He was only about two years old and he was locked in the cupboard, hungry, his nappy soppy and his bottom so rashed and irritated, that the skin had cracked and bled. He could hear the sounds of Dudley's birthday party going on, the children laughing, the adults talking and sharing stories of their children's antics. The tears on the boy's face silently leaving tracks down his frail, malnourished face.
Harry, dressed in huge, ill-fitting rags, hiding behind his Aunt who was proudly telling the new preschool teacher all about how smart and wonderful her son Dudley was, and how the teacher was just going to love having him in her class. The teacher asked about the other boy standing as still as a shadow behind her and Petunia twisting up her face as if she smelled dog droppings, "Oh, that's just Potter, his drunken parents got themselves killed and now we're stuck with the imbecile. He's truly stupid; just put him in a corner somewhere. There's no use trying to teach him anything." Harry was trying hard not to cry, fearful of looking around or even being noticed, as being noticed was a sure way of getting in trouble at the Dursleys.
Harry being laughed at and bullied on the playground because he hadn't known his first name or when his birthday was. Dudley was leading the taunting, pushing him down in the dirt and kicking his legs. "I told you he was a retard, you can't teach him nothing, 'cause he's too stupid to learn!"
Harry, proudly bringing home a perfect spelling paper only to have it ripped out of his hands; a purple faced Vernon yelling at him, "You freak, you're trying to make my son look bad, you're worthless, just like your drunken parents. Freaks like you aren't even human, they're just things. Things like you belong in cupboards; they don't belong at the table with people!" His uncle then threw him against the wall hard enough to crack his skull and send blood streaming down the back of his head. When Harry started to cry, his uncle backhanded him, screaming, "Things don't get to cry, freaks aren't human!" His uncle then locked him in the cupboard and said, "Two days, no food, and then I'll think about letting you out, freak!"
"What did you do now, boy?"

"Nothing, Uncle Vernon, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, I didn't turn her hair blue, honest!"

"Liar, you little freak, get in your cupboard." His uncle had been holding on to his arms so hard that bruises were already appearing. The tiny child's shirt had slid down one boney shoulder where cuts, and bruises upon bruises were visible on the pale skin.

Harry screwing up his courage to tell a teacher at recess that his uncle had been beating him and had broken a rib by kicking him. The same teacher meeting Vernon on the golf course and telling Vernon that his nephew was trying to spread lies about him in school.

"Freaks deserve everything they get, see, no one believes you. No one wants you; no one cares what happens to freaks!" His uncle picked him up and threw him down the stairs; then dragging him by one arm, shoved him into the dark cupboard. Harry began crying softly and grabbed his broken leg and wishing with all his heart that it would stop hurting. A soft golden glow surrounding the boy, unseen because his eyes were clamped shut, surrounding the leg and healing the wound.

The memories continued, escalating through the years as Vernon realized he could beat the child and even break bones and the boy just healed himself so no one found out. The sadistic pleasure that Vernon got; growing as the years passed, and standing back and watching his former self, Harry saw the bright light of insanity begin to show more and more in his uncle's eyes.
The three flew out of the pensieve and back to the couch where Harry shuddered in his father's lap, face buried tightly against the familiar comforting chest, encircled in his warm arms and listening to his silky, soothing voice. Albus was rubbing his hand gently up and down the child's back when he felt him stiffen, wipe the tears off of his face, and sit upright. Harry's face held an expression of sheer determination and resolve. Looking first at Albus and then at Severus, Harry began to explain, "Thank you, Dad and Grandpa, for making me face those memories. I can see it now, and finally know, deep in every part of me, that I did nothing to deserve what those bastards did to me. Helga and Rowena helped me a lot, but until I actually stood outside and watched, I never fully believed, but I do now!" He hugged his father and kissed him gently on the cheek, turned to his grandfather and did the same. "Thank you for being with me; and making me face and conquer my fears."

The three sat and discussed what they had seen and how proud they were of Harry being finally able to put it behind him. They all knew that Harry would still probably have a few panic attacks and flashbacks; but they should fade in frequency and duration as time went on. After an hour or more, Harry finally looked at his family and asked, "Now, why were you looking at me so weird over breakfast this morning?"

Albus chuckled and showed him the letter. Harry was startled but not really nervous about the testing. He already had passed seventeen Master's tests, how hard could 5th year O.W.L.'s be?

Severus left the two men discussing what they would say and do at the press conference that afternoon and went to teach his seventh year Slytherin dunderhead class. He sighed and thought gratefully, 'I will never have to teach another of these classes again! I wonder if I can give a series of difficult tests and just manage to fail each one of these students out of my class so there is no one left?'

Remus and Sirius had sent Tobias Trencher, one of the aurors that used to work at Azkaban, to buy more gerbil food. Tobias was on his third stop at a discount pet store, they wanted to spread their purchases out; how many people had over 300 gerbils to feed, after all? The stop was only a block or two away from Diagon Alley, but that shouldn't be a problem, it was still in Muggle territory. Unknown to him, a death eater who had recognized him was following him stealthily, waiting for his chance.

When Tobias stepped out of the store, carrying two big bags of gerbil pellets, heading around the corner to the alley, there was someone waiting for him who sent a stunning spell from behind a big rubbish bin. He fell to the ground before he knew he was even in trouble. The death eater snuck up on him and cast an imperious curse, implanting a directive to free any captured death eaters he came in contact with. The death eater enervated him, and then cast an obliviate. Tobias picked up the bags he had inexplicably dropped and apperated back to Grimmauld Place without suspecting a thing.

Harry spent the rest of the Thursday afternoon setting up the ingredients and cauldrons to brew more 'Lupin's Cure' for the next full moon. Headmaster Dumbledore had told all the staff members at lunch that Harry would be taking his O.W.L.'s next week so he would no longer be attending classes in order to give him 'time to revise'. After quelling the outrage that announcement fostered, the Headmaster finally convinced them that he had every confidence in Mr. Potter passing his examinations, and that the staff did not need to take time to help him strenuously revise during the next three days.

Harry was actually pleased to be released from classes, they had been a constant strain to not show his abilities, and a terrible temptation to pull pranks just to keep class interesting. Madame Pomfrey had recognized the source of Professor Flitwick's mysterious hallucinations and strongly urged him to cease and desist or face the consequences! Harry didn't think that was the time to mention he had wanted to duel her instead of Severus, but he was tempted.

By 3:30 he was dressed in his formal robes and waiting for his father to arrive in the Headmaster's office. Harry was going to apperate the three of them directly to the Ministry Atrium, saving them the time to walk down to the apparition point outside Hogwarts' wards, that and it was snowing rather heavily.

The three men appeared in the apparition area and were waved through, no one asked Albus Dumbledore for his wand, Harry didn't even carry one, and the guard had had Professor Snape as his potions' instructor just two years ago. It was his job to register visitor's wands but he was too intimidated to even try to step up to the man who still had the power to make him feel like an ignorant first year with just a glare. And the man was certainly glaring now!

Severus hated the press, they had pilloried him after the last fall of the dark lord, they would probably love to splash his private life all over the front page once again, and Severus was worried over what they would print about Harry. Before the kidnapping, the Daily Prophet was declaring that Voldemort hadn't returned, Dumbledore was lying and Potter was an attention seeking, deranged and possibly dangerous teenager. Since their return they had admitted that Voldemort was back, and Dumbledore was telling the truth all along, but they hadn't really said much about Harry, and Severus was worried they would still attack his son. Though all the stories about the duel had been very favorable, he would hate to have them decide that maybe Harry was the next dark lord; he wouldn't put it past them just to try to sell papers!

The almost visible black cloud of Severus' thoughts made everyone unconsciously give the threesome a wide berth as they traveled through the ministry on their way to Madame Bone's conference area. Albus was gripping tightly to a large tightly wrapped rectangular package, Harry was walking lost in his own thoughts behind him, and Severus looked like thunder and lightening would begin flashing any moment around his head.

There were just five minutes left before the press conference would begin, when they swept into the large room that was already milling with people. Albus walked up to the front, conjuring a tripod to set his package on, and then sat at a chair at the long table, motioning Harry and Severus to sit beside him. Remus was already sitting at the other end of the table, the official from the Care and Control of Magical Creatures Office, Mr. Blackstone, sitting beside him. There were only two chairs left unoccupied at the table, and the reporters and visitors were scrambling to find seats in the audience.

Exactly at 4 p.m., Minister Bones and Arthur Weasley entered and sat. A clerk called for silence and the conference began. Minister Bones began reading from a prepared statement, "Gentle witches and wizards, we are here today to announce and commemorate freedom for a segment of our population that has long been shunned and oppressed. With the development of a miraculous potion by two remarkably talented and diligent wizards, they have the chance to live a normal and productive life once more. We will begin with a statement from Mr. Barnabus Blackstone; from the Care and Control of Magical Creatures office, Mr. Blackstone."

Mr. Blackstone stood and announced, "I was present and witnessed the ingestion and subsequent cure of Lycanthropy on January the 17th, of one Mr. Remus Lupin" He gestured toward Remus, "and have performed every known diagnostic test for lycanthropy subsequently, and have found him to be completely free of the curse. The potion was administered as the full moon was rising, the curse was dispelled and Mr. Lupin remained untransformed in the full moonlight for the remainder of the evening."

The crowd finally settled down to listen to the rest of Mr. Blackstone's statement only after Mr. Weasley called the aurors from the sides of the room and threatened expulsion for anyone not immediately returned to their seat.

Mr. Blackstone continued, "This potion; called, 'Lupin's Cure', will be available at no cost to any werewolf registering themselves at my office. There will be approximately 60 doses available for the full moon on February the 14th, and then more doses each month until everyone registered has received their cure. We will place all names received into a drawing and pull the names out at random for each month's doses. Priority will be given for children and anyone with a medical condition making it dangerous for them to undergo another transformation. Any questions can be directed to my office beginning at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. I give you the developers of this miraculous potion, Mr. Harry Potter and Professor Severus Snape."

Harry and Severus stood to thunderous clapping and shouted questions. Harry pulled out his 'wand' and cast a sweeping silencio across the crowd. The sudden silence was almost eerie after the previous cacophony. Madame Bones looked at him in admiration, "You need to teach me to do that one, my boy; that would be very useful." Harry looked slightly embarrassed as he nodded at the Minister.

Severus began speaking, "As many of you are aware, I began working on the Wolfsbane potion over ten years ago. This potion, while not curing lycanthropy allowed the werewolf to retain his human intellect and reasoning; even when transformed into a werewolf during the full moon. I had been unable to develop this formula further until my brilliant colleague suggested a unique and creative new ingredient and brewing method. This potion was then developed through collaboration between Mr. Potter and me."

"But the insight and original idea for this cure is all Mr. Potter's inspiration. I am grateful that he has allowed me to be an integral part in the development of this potion that will cure those afflicted with lycanthropy once and for all. Thank you; any questions about the specific ingredients or brewing techniques will not be answered at this time, this is a patented brew and is only available through the Ministry. All questions should be forwarded to the Ministry for clarification. Thank you."

Severus clasped Harry on the shoulder, the boy released the spell and the two sat down.

The audience was still too stunned to speak, when Albus Dumbledore stood up and waved his wand at the wrapped package. The brown paper disappeared to show a portrait of Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor, who opened their eyes and looked around. The group gasped almost as one and waited to hear what the two 'mortal enemies' would say.

Godric spoke first, "Hello, gentle people. I am truly Godric Gryffindor. I will speak first because there are more pictures of me, enough for most of you to recognize me at first sight. My brother-in-law, Salazar, and I have come here today to dispel many of the myths that surround us and our descendants. I was shocked to find just how much of our early history has been lost, either through ignorance or deliberate action. We were recently uncovered in a hidden room at Hogwarts and have been verified to be authentic through age testing and questions that only the founders would know the answers to. And yes I did say Salazar is my brother-in-law. He is married to my sister, Helga Hufflepuff, and along with my beautiful wife, Rowena Ravenclaw, we started Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 996 in order to battle the encroaching darkness that threatened our world."

Salazar spoke up, "Due to an indiscretion when I was fourteen, it is claimed I produced a bastard son with the daughter of the local pub owner. I was with a group of older apprentices that thought to introduce me to the joys of mulled mead. And even after 1,000 years, I am ashamed to say that I truly do not remember what happened that evening."

"Sixteen years later, a boy stepped out and claimed to be the child of myself and the tavern owner's daughter who was working that evening. That child claimed for himself the name of Slytherin and began a campaign of hatred toward muggles and muggle born witches and wizards that still plagues your world today. This child was never proven to actually be my child, nor have I ever given credence to or acknowledged his claim to be my heir, he never had it, he never will. I do not deny he could have been a child of mine, he could also have been a child of any of my companions or of anyone else who frequented that tavern."

"Your Lord Voldemort, in actual fact one named, Tom Morvolo Riddle, might be a descendant of that bastard who claimed to be my son. But he is not and never has been the heir of the true Slytherin, me or one of my two legitimate sons. I do not condone his methods or his beliefs. Without the infusion of muggle blood into the wizarding line, we would soon be inbred to be nothing but squibs. My lovely wife Helga would be excited to prove that to you using the breeding of purebred dogs; if you could stand to hear her lecture you on it for days on end." There was a nervous giggle heard at this small joke from the back of the room, but otherwise everyone was silent and in awe at hearing directly from the founders.

Godric took up the narrative, "I eventually had to fight and kill the one who claimed the name of Slytherin, and many good people had fallen on both sides. Many years before, Salazar had been injured when the ceiling of a cave collapsed upon him while he was collecting rare potions ingredients. He was gravely injured and it took many long months for him to recover, though he was never again able to walk without severe pain. The injury and subsequent recovery had greatly changed his appearance, and when he was able to return to Hogwarts, for his safety, and the safety of his family, and because of the growing outrage of both wizards and muggles concerning the name of Slytherin, he changed his name and never left the castle again."

Salazar finished up, "The myth that Godric and I became mortal enemies and that I left the school because they were admitting muggle born students is just that; a myth. Some of our original and most promising students were muggle born, and in fact my eldest son and heir, married a very powerful and brilliant muggle born witch. I loved her as a daughter and each of the six beautiful grandchildren she bore to my son have cherished places within my heart. The Chamber of Secrets was simply called Slytherin's Chamber and was where I developed several dangerous potions safely away from the school, and where I could retreat when my injuries made me too vulnerable to attack. The basilisk was a pet of the sixth headmaster of Hogwarts, who was a parselmouth and brought the snake back with him from a journey to Egypt. Thank you for your help in spreading the truth and dispelling these dangerous myths."

The two portraits nodded to Harry and Severus and disappeared to return to their other frames still at Hogwarts. It took a silencio from Harry to calm the crowd down enough for them to ask one question at a time.

"So who is the heir of Slytherin and what did he change his name to?"

Minister Bones held up a sheaf of parchment, "I have documents that have been held in trust for over one thousand years at Gringotts showing the blood line of the true Salazar Slytherin; that have been charmed to be self updating. The name listed to be the heir of Slytherin is, Lord Severus Snape. I also have the same documents for Godric Gryffindor that identifies his rightful heir as, Lord Harry Potter. The name that Slytherin changed his to is not identified; I might assume he changed it to Snape which is an old goblin word for snake."

A new round of shouts and bellowed questions came from the audience, making it impossible to hear any one question clearly. Two reporters had to be physically ejected before the room settled down once more. After several questions clarifying the information about the founders, Madame Bones directed the questioners to change to a new topic.

"About that cure, what happens if they don't want to come to the ministry to be identified as a werewolf? Are you not going to cure them?"

Mr. Weasley stepped forward, "Only by coming to the ministry, will they receive the cure. The preparation of the potion requires precise brewing and must be taken with precise timing and proper supervision; it will not be available privately. We are not interested in prosecuting anyone or locking anyone up, we merely want to keep control of the cure in the hands of proper authorities. And as soon as a person has been cured, their name will be stricken from the rolls of werewolves; and they will be free to begin their life as a law abiding witch or wizard."

"Lord Potter, what did you add to the Wolfsbane to make it become a cure, instead of just a palliative?"

"As was stated earlier, the exact ingredients and brewing methods will be sealed by the Ministry. It is too volatile and dangerous for someone to try to brew it themselves. As for the ingredients, only Professor Snape or I are able to harvest them. The location of the critical ingredient is known only to the two of us and will remain that way, a closely guarded secret." Harry stated emphatically.

Madame Bones rose abruptly, declared the press conference over and waved the others at the table out the back entrance. The aurors guarded the door to ensure no one unauthorized could follow them. Mr. Blackstone bid them goodbye and returned to his office to help his staff gear up for the inundation of werewolves they expected in the morning. Mr. Weasley left to return to the Burrow for dinner with his family.

Remus hugged the three from Hogwarts goodbye, kissing Harry gently on his cheek and thanking him again, "I need to get back to Sirius, he and Moody are expanding and rearranging 'gerbil land' this evening. The adult male section is getting overcrowded and we need to expand their cages and add some more tubing to allow them to move around without crowding. We also need to fix up something for Lucius, he's getting really obsessive about getting to Draco; and Draco has stopped eating and just hides under the shavings."

Harry snorted, "We could give him his own ball and let Buckbeak play croquet…you know with wire hoops and sticks, or maybe a rubber ball and teach him how to play basketball?"

Severus leaned down and whispered into Harry's ear, "We could let him escape and return to Tom as a gerbil. I wonder how Nagini would like to play with him."

Harry looked at his father in astonishment, "That's just mean, funny, but mean!"

Dinner with Madame Bones was very interesting. They wound up telling her about their trip to the past and how they had become a family. She was astonished about Harry's training and his seventeen masteries. She was apologetic about Harry having to take both O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s since he had already passed his Master's certifications, but she could see no way around them without divulging where the two had been, and no one wanted that information out.

They had just finished pudding and were sitting back enjoying a good cup of tea, when a junior clerk came running in with an urgent message for the Hogwarts three. Dumbledore took the parchment and opened it quickly. Scrawled there, in handwriting he recognized as old Mad Eye Moody's was the following message:

Need help order on the way! Gerbil land jail break, guard under imperious, gerbils loose!

Moody

With a hasty goodbye, Dumbledore, Snape and Harry ran to the private apparition point in Madame Bones' office and left with a single small pop of air.

AN: I am open to scenarios about individual captures of gerbils. Have a suggestion; tell it to me in a review. I will use the best ones in the next chapter so be creative. The faster I have good suggestions, the faster the next chapter will be out!

Chapter 27: Bowling for Gerbils?