CHAPTER 11: SOME BONDS ARE UNBREAKABLE
"Dumbledore permitted Potter abuse," screamed the headline of the Daily Prophet the next morning, much to Harry's annoyance. He had hoped that the newspaper would not concentrate on his treatment at the hands of the Dursleys as it was an episode of his life that he wanted to put behind him, but at least it looked as though the article would be highly critical of Dumbledore, and would hopefully get his changed opinions on the headmaster across. The article was accompanied by a photograph of yesterdays shopping trip, which showed the group sitting in the café after they had finished shopping. He was pleased to note that Malfoy was not in the picture, he didn't know how, but he was grateful for it anyway. If everybody knew he had gone on a shopping trip with his worst enemy then awkward questions would be asked, and accusations of treachery would be banded about liberally. Having to explain Malfoy's presence on the shopping trip to Ron, before Hermione told him, was bad enough without everyone else knowing too. Curious to see how the Daily Prophet interpreted his letter he started to read the article.
Reports that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, had been abused by his muggle guardians were confirmed yesterday. In a frank letter to the Daily Prophet, written by Mr. Potter himself, responding to yesterday's front page article revealing concerns about his safety and whereabouts, he describes the years of abuse and mistreatment at the hands of his muggle uncle, all perpetrated with the tacit agreement of Albus Dumbledore, his magical guardian and headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
In a separate development, fears about Mr. Potter's well being were eased yesterday when he was spotted shopping in Rome. Witnesses described Potter as being in a jovial mood on the four-hour trip in which he was accompanied by family and friends, as well as showing no signs of ill health or injury.
In his letter Mr. Potter compares his treatment at the hands of his relatives to that of a "badly treated House Elf, complete with the taunts and physical punishment when the slightest mistake was made," confirming rumours given to our reporters by Mr. Potter's close friends. He goes on to describe how the treatment got gradually worse as the years went on, culminating in regular beatings this summer, "Vernon [Mr. Potter's Uncle] always wanted to beat me when I was younger," he says, "but my aunt wouldn't let him until this summer." According to Mr Potter the treatment was so bad that it drove him to attempt suicide, but not before he wrote one last desperate plea to Professor Dumbledore asking to be removed from his relative's care. Not only was this plea rejected but Professor Dumbledore also sent a letter to his relative's giving explicit permission for them to beat Mr. Potter, provided there was no permanent harm. Mr. Potter attempted suicide the next day, an attempt which failed because of the intervention of Petunia Dursley, who also took Mr. Potter to live with new guardians following the attempt, a course of action that Professor Dumbledore objected to strongly, even though Mrs Dursley had left her husband's home, thus destroying the wards protecting Mr. Potter while he was staying with his relatives.
"For someone to treat a person in the way Professor Dumbledore has treated me, requires both poor judgement and a complete lack of disregard for my welfare," Mr. Potter says, a view which was echoed by Martha Hildberger, the well known author of several books on child development, who joined the growing number of influential figures calling for Professor Dumbledore's resignation. In a statement released by her agent, Mrs. Hildberger said that "If Professor Dumbledore had failed to prevent his own ward from being abused, then he is not suitable to be the guardian of many children as the headmaster of a school." Regretfully, Mr. Potter stopped short of endorsing this position, but did say he longer trusted Professor Dumbledore in any capacity, whether official or personal. However it is the opinion of this reporter that this latest misjudgement is a misjudgement too far and that Professor Dumbledore should do the honourable thing and resign immediately.
He took the Floo to the Weasley's soon afterwards, happy that the article had got the point across, of greater pleasure however was the editorial that the Daily Prophet had written on the subject. The editorial had argued Harry's position on Dumbledore fiercely, but like Harry had stopped short of calling for him to be sacked as Hogwarts Headmaster, saying that he was still the best man for the job.
As expected none of the Weasley children were up when Harry arrived, although from glancing at the clock he could tell Percy and Mr. Weasley were at work. Mrs. Weasley was in the Kitchen, and didn't see Harry Floo in, but she heard it, and soon came investigating.
"Harry," she cried when she stepped into her living room and saw a slightly dishevelled boy-who-lived stepping out of the fireplace, rushing over to pull him into a bone-crushing hug, "Is it all true? I was so worried when I heard you had gone missing, and this morning well if I'd known I would have helped you. Why didn't you tell us?"
"I'm okay now Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied with a reassuring grin, "And we'll be taking Vernon to court."
"But Professor Dumbledore," Mrs Weasley gasped releasing Harry from the hug, "Did he really do all those awful things you said he did?"
Harry nodded solemnly, "He was trying a little too hard to ensure I stayed on the light side," Harry said sadly, "He let his responsibility as leader of the light side come in the way of my welfare, and I can't forgive him for that." His views were a lot stronger than that, but he knew his real opinions would most probably horrify the Weasleys.
"You a dark wizard?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. She seemed to find the whole idea completely ridiculous, "I know the past Potter's have all been evil, but you're nothing like them."
"I know," Harry responded, sounding depressed at the mention of his Potter ancestors, "What have I done to merit the little faith and confidence he has in me?"
He had found out the previous day that until his grandfather came along, the Potter family made families such as the Malfoy's appear virtuous in the extreme. He had been disgusted and horrified by the discovery, to the extent that he had wanted to drain all his Potter blood, simply because it made him sick, to have the same blood running through his veins as the countless generations of dark wizards. Yet this revelation had also had the effect of at least partly explaining why Dumbledore seemed to be trying so hard to keep him on side when there was absolutely no chance of him joining Voldemort. It also made him resent Dumbledore even more, simply because the headmaster seemed to believe him capable of joining the dark side, he had a passionate hatred for anybody, including Dumbledore, who could even consider him betraying everything he stood for and join Voldemort.
"Nothing," Mrs Weasley replied confidently.
"Exactly," Harry answered a little harsher than intended, almost letting the perfect little Gryffindor mask slip. It was clear from the quizzical expression on her face that he hadn't fooled Mrs. Weasley, but she didn't comment on it though much to Harry's delight, "I trust Ron is still asleep." he added, resuming a happier tone.
"Yes he is," Mrs Weasley answered, "You can wake him up if you want, you know where his room is."
Ron was indeed asleep when Harry entered his room, but that was soon corrected with the removal of the red head's blankets from his bed, and a cry of "Rise and Shine," Even if it did take a few minutes for Ron to realise that it was Harry who had woken him up, rather than the twins.
"Harry!" he cried, obviously surprised to see his best friend, as Harry had expected, "What are you doing here this early in the morning?"
"Early!" the raven-haired boy exclaimed jokingly, "It's ten o'clock, a time when most normal people are up."
"So what," Ron grumbled in reply. He had not made any moves to get up, "I like my sleep."
"I know," Harry replied, sounding a little depressed, "but you're going to have to get up as I have some things I need to tell you." Ron perked up immediately at hearing this, knowing that Harry had something important to tell him, it was clear in the raven-haired boy's tone of voice.
"Is this about yesterday's article in the Daily Prophet?" he asked, causing Harry to nod in confirmation, "Give me five minutes to get ready then, we can talk over breakfast'"
He had already known about Harry's new guardians when he had read the article about Harry's supposed disappearance, but still he wanted to know the whole story. He didn't know who his new guardians were, Dumbledore hadn't told them that, but he had assured his family that they would be treating Harry properly. He'd owled Hermione with the news straight afterwards, but she was on holiday in Tuscany at the moment and wouldn't have received the letter until this morning.
"Dumbledore told us you'd left the Dursley's and were living elsewhere, didn't say anything else though," Ron explained ten minutes later as he began eating breakfast in the kitchen, "I was going to owl you and ask where you were, but I thought I'd better wait for you to get contact first, in case you couldn't receive owls or something."
"Just as well I'm living with wizards then isn't it," Harry replied, laughing at his best friend's stupidity and forgetfulness, "I don't have an owl at the moment as you're looking after Hedwig."
"Bloody Hell. I I'd forgotten about that," Ron exclaimed, mentally kicking himself at his stupidity. He had even used Hedwig to send his letter to Hermione, a letter that told of his intention of waiting for Harry to get in contact first.
"It doesn't matter," Harry responded dismissively, "I would have survived, my grandparents are nothing like the Dursley's."
"Your grandparents!" Ron cried, genuinely surprised, he had thought that Harry's grandparents were dead, "But Dumbledore said that the Dursleys are your only living relatives."
"Dumbledore lied," Harry said bitterly, "Just as lied about everything else. He doesn't give a damn about me personally, just the fact that I'm useful, in the fight against Voldemort. To him I'm a tool."
Ron looked shocked by what his best friend was saying, Dumbledore wasn't like that; he was a kind man, who treated people properly. He was a former Gryffindor not a nasty slimy Slytherin who would screw someone over at the slightest opportunity. He was horrified by what he was hearing, and the fact it was Harry who was saying it. His best friend was not a malicious person, he was a kind person, who didn't make such stupid claims, that was normally Hermione's territory with her claims about House-Elf liberation.
"Dumbledore is not some slimy Slytherin," Ron protested, "He wouldn't lie without good reason, he's not like that." He wasn't angry with Harry for making such accusations, more shocked, it wasn't as if Harry was insulting him after all. Although Harry's words and tone were uncharacteristic, Ron was sure there was a good reason for it, most probably a result from a misunderstanding, or one of the Headmaster's mistakes, something that could easily be cleared up, so that Harry could see the truth again.
"Does to ensure I stay with the Dursleys sound like a good enough reason to you?" Harry replied, his tone still bitter.
"I don't know," Ron admitted reluctantly, normally he would think not but then Harry's case wasn't normal, "But I'm sure it must have been good enough for Dumbledore, although I'm sure why he thought you were better off at the Dursley's."
Harry didn't respond to this, he knew that Ron would never accept the real reason and he didn't want to cause an argument by telling him. He knew Dumbledore had placed him with the Dursleys so he could manipulate him into being his perfect little Gryffindor tool, and whilst he had no objections to being a Gryffindor he resented being used. Instead he began to tell the story of his summer up until his arrival at the home of his mother's family. Ron had been furious to hear of Vernon's abuse, and shocked to hear of Dumbledore's reply. He hadn't shown any sympathy for Harry, much to the raven-haired boy's relief, he'd been much too busy cursing Vernon and Professor Dumbledore, especially after hearing of Harry's suicide attempt. He had been extremely surprised to hear of his Aunt Petunia's rescue, but not as surprised to hear the truth about his mother's family.
"Bloody hell," Ron concluded after hearing the whole story, "Dumbledore really cocked up didn't he. I mean it is a stupid idea to place you with the Dursley's in the first place, but to keep you there. I can't understand you he didn't place you with your grandparents." Harry grinned, he still had to tell Ron about being related to Malfoy, but at least the redhead wasn't being quite as dunderheaded as Hermione had been the previous day, and had actually believed Dumbledore capable of making mistakes.
"Well there are two reasons," Harry said, "But both of them are pretty stupid if you ask me. The first is that my grandparents are Slytherins," Ron grimaced at this, "But they're both on the light side, and had two daughters in Gryffindor and a son in Ravenclaw, not to mention the fact that my uncle married my mother's best friend, who was also a Gryffindor."
"So they're not that bad, kind of like Zabini and Davis?" Ron asked in order to confirm what Harry was saying. Harry nodded in confirmation, causing Ron to shrug in bewilderment at Dumbledore's actions. Normally he would be against placing Harry with a Slytherin family, even if it was a choice between them and the Dursley's as most Slytherins were evil, there were exceptions such as Mad-Eye Moody of course, just as there was the odd evil Gryffindor. Harry's grandparents must be two of these exceptions.
"The second is a result of the man my other aunt married. I mean he's not welcome at my grandparents manor, but she is, and she brings her son along, and well he's a complete bastard…" Harry stammered nervously, he had no clue as to how to tell Ron about Malfoy, without losing his best friend in the process. As a result he was dodging the issue, and not making any sense.
"Oh come on, he can't be any worse than Malfoy can he?" Ron asked flippantly, knowing very well that Harry was avoiding the issue and putting Harry completely off-guard in the process. The look on his best friend's face told Ron everything, "Malfoy!" he yelled, horrified by what his best friend's look had told him, "Malfoy is you cousin!" Harry nodded meekly in confirmation, afraid that Ron's explosive reply had indicated that they were no longer friends.
"Eugh!" Ron exclaimed, shuddering in disgust. He stopped speaking for a few moments to let the news sink in, "You, Malfoy's cousin," he continued, shaking his head, he sounded slightly dazed by the whole situation, "I feel for you mate."
Harry brightened up considerably at hearing this, "You mean you don't hate me," he said hopefully.
Ron laughed, "Of course not. I can tell the difference between you and Malfoy. I mean he's evil and your not. The two of you are nothing alike."
Harry couldn't help but grin, not just out of relief, but also because Ron didn't know how wrong he was when he said that he and Malfoy were nothing alike, "I was forced to go shopping with him, my other cousins and Zabini yesterday," Ron shot him a look of sympathy, "It wasn't that bad, gave me the opportunity to spend all day trying to piss him off, while Zabini picked out my new wardrobe for me."
"I thought Malfoy and Zabini weren't friends?" Ron asked, he certainly agreed with Harry that a day spent trying to annoy Draco Malfoy was well spent, even if it was while shopping.
"They're not," Harry corrected, "Malfoy recruited Zabini to choose my new wardrobe. He's the only guy he knows, apart from himself, who has any fashion sense."
"That's because he's gay," Ron replied, "and Malfoy's a ponce."
The Italian boy had caused a huge stir at the previous year's yule ball by dancing with a fifth year Ravenclaw named Robert Marsden, when questioned about the incident afterwards the pair had revealed that they were gay and together. Any abuse the pair received had quickly died down when it became clear the Slytherins would not tolerate it. Harry hadn't had any problems with it, Vernon was fiercely homophobic, and Harry's general rule of thumb was that Vernon was always wrong, it was a rule that had never failed him. Not that he was gay himself, far from it, he was completely heterosexual and had absolutely no desire to experiment sexually with another boy.
I didn't say Ron would fall out with Harry immediately. Unlike Hermione he doesn't take Harry's criticisms of Dumbledore personally, and still thinks that Harry hates Malfoy,a an illusion that will take it's time to be stripped away.
I know I took my time with this chapter but I had a mini writer's block on the newspaper article at the beginning of the chapter, which was not helped by various things that have been distracting me from writing over the past week. The good thing (from your point of view) to come from these distractions is a stronger plotline, I had two major plot bunnies late last week and a few days ago which has caused me to significantly revise the plot for the second half of this fic. As a said before the fic will be a lot better for it.
Hopefully the last paragraph should clear up any remaining questions about slash, two reviews for the last chapter asked about slash, so I thought I'd better re-clarify my position. I also want to add that whilst Blaise is gay, he will not be paired. His homosexuality is merely character development, and will not form part of any plotline. As for Robert Marsden, neither he or any other gay characters (apart from Blaise) will be mentioned again. If you have any problems with the inclusion of an unpaired gay charcter then hit the back button, I don't have time for homophobes.
Finally, Thank You to all those who reviewed Chapter Ten. The reviews were much appreciated.