A/N: Hi guys! All of your reviews made my Muse come out and hit me on the
head. Short chapter, only eight pages, but for all of you who reviewed.
Thanks for your support and encouragement! ~Sylvia
Tom, Matthew and Harry were all in the sitting room. Tom and Matthew were debating the uses of wormwood in a potion that they had been working on since Harry had come home. Harry, banned from lessons for the rest of the school holidays, was relaxing on the couch, playing with his Gameboy. Severus had just stopped to see them all, along with Draco. Severus had taken some blood from Harry to find the level of toxin in it and pronounced himself pleased by Harry's progress. Draco had made pompous looking faces behind his new guardian the whole time, causing Harry to smile. Severus had turned to catch Draco in whatever he had been doing, but he not been quick enough. Severus secretly knew what Draco had been doing and ignored it. He knew that neither boy had had little fun in their home lives and it was good to see the two of them as friends now.
"Harry?" Tom said, trying to reach the boy currently enthralled in the Super Mario World game.
"Hm?" Harry said, buttons working furiously. Matthew grinned from his chair. He had known that Harry would enjoy playing such games.
"Time for your potion." Harry's thumb snapped out and paused the game. While he was recovering, and quickly, he still felt the need for the potion more than he felt the need for food, but Nellie found that he was eating more, which pleased her to no end. Harry waited until Tom gave him the pre-measured dose. Harry sipped it slowly, showing the restraint that Severus had praised early on in his treatment. Harry knew that if he let the potion control him, then Malfoy would win. Nothing would be worse than that.
The thoughts of a father led to thoughts of his son as Harry handed the vial back to Tom and thanked him. He had found Draco to be just a teenager like himself, and horribly confused and frightened at what had been going on around him. The Mark burned occasionally, and the only relief that Draco could be given was a pain draught so potent that it made him sleep. Unfortunately, too much of the pain draught could cause dependence. Severus was very careful in administering it to his young charge, whom was now affectionately calling the snarky potions master, "Sev". Harry counted him among his friends now and wondered how Ron and Hermione would act.
He had sent them both letters, telling them that he had hidden himself when he had seen Death Eaters scanning the crowds for Harry Potter. They accepted his excuse and had sent their own Christmas gifts after receiving Harry's to them. Ron had given Harry a journal, spelled to keep all of Harry's secrets. Ron had said that there was no one, not even Dumbledore, who would be able to break into the journal. Hermione had sent him a copy of Hogwarts: A History. Well, they were starting to act alike, so he figured that more and more that he would be able to group them as a couple.
"Give me that thing." Tom said, snatching the GameBoy away and turning it off.
"Hey!" Harry protested, reaching for the game.
"You've rotted your brain long enough. Come play chess with me." Tom requested. Harry smiled and nodded. Okay, it was his game, but Tom had missed spending time with him. The two set up the chessboard between them and started into a slightly competitive game. Matthew, still worried about potions ingredients, called out tips and hints from the side that confused Harry more than anything else. He managed to check Tom, but Tom turned the check around on him and Harry conceded defeat by knocking over his king.
"Why do you always manage to beat me?" Harry asked, helping to put the pieces away.
"You are still learning strategy." Tom explained. "You know the moves, and you know some strategies, but they are becoming highly predictable. Your intuition is not helping any, because you don't trust it in a game." Tom said, looking Harry over. The teenager shrugged and looked at his teacher.
"Nope, don't trust it at all, except in life and death situations." Harry said. Tom, taking the announcement for what it was worth, pulled the boy into a hug before ordering him back to the couch. Harry picked up a book instead of his Gameboy and started into the joys of Weirs Commun's newest book. A half hour later found him napping, and Tom and Matthew in the lab, working on a potion. Harry jerked awake when he felt that something wasn't quite right. What was it?
He got off the sofa and wandered out into the hallway. Nothing there. He went back to the living room and looked out the windows. Nothing there. He wandered around the house, ducking Nellie's attempts to feed him, and looked for whatever was wrong. It felt like everything was surreal, like reality hadn't quite caught up to Harry from his dreams. Since the Mind's Snare, Harry's dreams had taken on a decidedly more surreal world. Nothing made sense in them. Severus said that this was normal, and that regular dreams would begin again after Harry was fully free from the potion. Harry kind of liked dreams with flying flowers. They were better than the dreams of Voldemort torturing someone. He shook off the bizarre feeling and returned to his book, wondering whether or not weird feelings were a side effect. He settled back down on the couch and dove into the pages once again, letting his feelings go.
Ten minutes later, a window was broken in and several wizards started pouring through it. Harry jumped to his feet and headed to the library, ducking curses all the while. He figured that none of them knew who he was. When he actually made it to the library, he found Tom and Matthew already taken to the ground by some of the same uniformed wizards. Two tackled him from behind. One of them rolled Harry over and pointed a wand at his face. "It's Harry Potter." He announced. Harry noticed the patch on the front of their robes. Ministry Aurors. He rolled his head to the side where Tom was already in wizarding handcuffs, his wand confiscated. Matthew was in the same situation, glaring at the Aurors with all the hatred he could muster. The Aurors helped Harry to his feet and two started to lead Harry towards the front door.
"You're okay, son." One of them said to Harry as they made it to the porch. Harry looked at him blankly. Kingsley Shacklebolt. His brain automatically told him that this man was in the Order of the Phoenix. "You're safe now." Harry felt the familiar hysteria rising in him and he fought it down. He didn't want to show any emotion to these men. He felt like he was going to cry. How dare they come into his home and attack his guardians? He pulled away from them and went back into the house, using his wandless magic to the best of his advantage. Thank goodness he no longer needed to use incantations. His secret was still safe. He pushed his way past several Aurors in front of the library door to find Tom and Matthew facing down some more Aurors.
"Avada..." Harry threw himself in front of Tom.
"NO!" Harry screamed, throwing an Expelliarmus charm at the Auror. The wand flew out of his hand and into Harry. "You can't kill him." Harry said, rounding on the other Auror, daring him to do something.
"Move away from him, son." Shacklebolt said as he came into the room, wand already raised. Harry shook his head and kept his position in front of Tom. Matthew was speaking quietly to Harry. "You there, quiet." Shacklebolt ordered. Matthew fell silent. He had been telling Harry to just let the Aurors take them. He and Tom didn't want Harry hurt in any of this.
"You can't hurt him." Harry said, taking his defensive post again. "We're connected." Harry told the Aurors. Several of them exchanged looks between them as though they weren't sure they could believe him.
"Come away from them, Harry." Shacklebolt said, moving forward towards Harry. He was hoping to get close enough to be able to get a stunning spell around the boy, but Harry seemed to know what he was doing and assumed one of his battle stances, wand pointing at the entire crowd of Aurors. One of the Aurors thought about possible headlines that could show up in the papers. "Boy Who Lived Holds Off Fully Trained Aurors" was a particularly amusing one. A series of hand signals around the entire group readied their wands and seemed ready to take out Harry if they needed to. Few wanted to do it, however.
"Harry." Tom whispered. Harry tilted his head to listen, still wary of the attacking Aurors. "Put down the wand, son." Harry shook his head the slightest bit, not allowing Tom to talk him into such a crazy idea. "I don't want you hurt." Tom said, conveniently forgetting the necklace that Harry wore constantly. "Harry, now." He whispered.
"They'll hurt you." He returned. Several of the Aurors wondered if they needed to go to St. Mungo's for mental treatment. Harry Potter was protecting Voldemort from Aurors. Something was wrong in the wizarding world. Harry eyed all the Aurors. There was no way he could take them all.
"Harry." Tom said louder. Several of the Aurors raised their wands a little higher. "Put down the wand." Harry's shake of the head surprised all the Aurors. What was going on here? "Now, Harry." Harry sighed and looked at the Aurors.
"If I put down my wand, you have to promise not to hurt either of them until Professor Dumbledore comes to the Ministry." Harry said, looking at Shacklebolt.
"You do realize that this is Voldemort?" One of the Aurors said in slight disbelief. Harry smirked.
"Yes, but I call him Tom." Harry said. "Not one spell is to be thrown in either of their directions until Professor Dumbledore has come." Harry said. "Otherwise, I'll just have to fight you all off."
"Harry, you're not strong enough." Tom hissed from behind him. Shacklebolt looked around at his squad.
"No spells are to be said until we have seen Professor Dumbledore." Shacklebolt said. "The prisoners are to be locked in maxiamum security cells. If I find so much as a hex thrown, I will throw that wizard into a cell myself." All of their wands slowly lowered. Harry lowered his own wand and turned to Tom.
"Why do you never listen to me?" Tom asked quietly.
"I did what I could. You can't die." Harry said. Harry allowed himself to be led away be an Auror, while others moved in to flank Tom and Matthew. Once outside the house, all three were Apparated to the Ministry of Magic. Harry watched as Tom and Matthew were thrown into separate cells. He was led to an interrogation room.
He had only been in the room for an hour or so when a man came in with a broad smile on his face. "Hello, Harry. My name is Adam. I've come to talk to you about what has been going on." Harry looked him over. The man was not a lawyer. He would have introduced himself as such. The easy going smile and casual name also pointed out that the man was trying to appear as a friendly on Harry's terms.
"Hello." Harry returned. Harry bet a galleon that this man was nothing more than a child psychologist.
"How are you feeling?" He asked as he sat down. Harry looked up, just a little amazed. How was he feeling? His home had been invaded, his guardians arrested, attacked by Aurors, and his withdrawal was starting to show again. How did this man think he was feeling?
"I'm okay." Harry answered. The man wrote something down on the tablet in front of him. Oh, this was definitely a shrink. But not like Matthew. Matthew never wrote anything down and always explained any psychobabble he used in front of Harry. This one even wrote in symbols.
"Were you hurt when they arrested You Know Who?" The man asked. Yes, Harry was hurt! The Aurors threatened his guardian's life. Harry wanted to roll his eyes at the absurdity of it all.
"No." He answered. Adam looked a little upset at the one word answer, but wrote something down anyway. Harry wondered why he could write so much about a one-word answer. He shrugged mentally and pulled out his Gameboy that he had put into a pocket.
"I'll let you mess with that in just a minute." Adam said. Harry sighed and placed it on the table. "How did you come to be with You Know Who?" Harry wanted to bash his head of the table. "I moved in with him after I left the Dursleys." He answered shortly. "What else do you want to know?" The man looked highly surprised to hear such a sentence come out of Harry's mouth. That was the longest sentence that the boy had spoken since he had come into the room.
"Why did you go to a wizard that was trying to kill you?" Harry fought down the urge to use wandless magic on the man.
"He hasn't been after me since the end of last year. He was protecting me." Harry told him. He saw disbelief on the man's face. "Look, Tom was not hurting me, I was safe there, and I'm fine." Adam looked down at the shaking hands that Harry had placed on the table and then back up to Harry's face.
"Sure you are." The man said, writing down some notes. Harry gritted his teeth and removed his hands from the table. His withdrawal symptoms were becoming worse. He folded his arms and the man wrote down another note. "Okay, Harry. I'll be back in a little while. If you need anything, let the guard know, okay?" Harry nodded and turned on his Gameboy. The stupid shrink left the room and went to the Head Auror's office.
"How is he, Doctor?" the man asked, turning a dial that allowed him to see Harry on the wall.
"He insists that he is fine, that he wasn't being harmed in any way, and that You Know Who was doing nothing more than protecting him." The doctor said. "He appears highly upset about something and withdraws into himself." He answered. "He's also slightly aggressive, but that could just be fear talking instead of him." The Head Auror nodded and watched the boy who was involved in some sort of Muggle contraption. What had happened to the savior of the wizarding world? How had he paired up with Voldemort?
Harry's hands eventually shook so hard he could not hold the Gameboy in his hands. He shut it down and looked around. Nothing else with which to amuse himself was in the room. He settled to counting ceiling tiles and found there to be exactly twenty-four in the closet like room. He decided to take stock of his situation.
Harry looked around the small interrogation room and sighed. Tom and he were still alive, Matthew was unharmed, and Professor Dumbledore had been called. He knew that Shacklebolt would have done so, with or without permission. Harry thought it an improvement over their prior situation. He rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes. They had been there for almost six hours now. He was an three hours overdue for his potion and he was certainly feeling the effects. He clenched his hands into fists to stop the visible shaking. He felt awful. He knew that if anyone looked into the room at that moment, they would know that something was seriously wrong with him. He pep talked to himself, telling him that he could beat a silly little potion. His body was screaming that he was wrong, but he ignored it. Shouting interrupted his mind mid sentence. He sat up as he recognized the voices. It was the headmaster and Professor Snape! He left his chair and banged on the door. "I'm in here!" He shouted. The lock clicked and the door opened.
"Harry, are you alright?" Dumbeldore said, looking over the shaking boy.
"No, he's not alright." Severus snapped, pushing past the headmaster, ignoring the Aurors ordering him out of the room. He pulled out a vial and opened it. "Open." Harry tilted his head back and opened his mouth. Snape stepped forward and poured the potion don his throat. Two Aurors pulled Snape away from Harry.
"Stop!" Harry ordered. To Dumbledore and Snape's surprise, the guards actually obeyed. "It's medication. He's not poisoning me. I trust him." The two Aurors released Snape, who brushed his robes off as though the two had carried dirt with them. Harry turned to his headmaster. "They've got Tom." He said sadly. "They were trying to kill him." Dumbledore nodded.
"I will do my best, Harry." Snape went to the door and motioned someone into the room.
"Draco's going to stay with you." Severus said. "We'll both be back soon." Severus and Albus swept out of the room, leaving the boys with an Auror standing in the room.
"Hello, mate." Draco said, steering Harry to a chair. "How you doing?" He asked, sitting down next to him.
"My home was invaded, my guardians arrested, and I was tackled by Aurors. I'm just peachy." Draco snickered at the statement, causing Harry to elbow him. "My life is falling apart." He mumbled from the table, where he had settled his head just a few seconds before while Draco was laughing at him.
"If it helps, I know how you feel." Draco said, one hand covering his left arm. Harry caught the significance and nodded.
"It does, a little bit." Harry said. Draco and Harry talked of school and classes, trying their best to ignore the guard left in the room. Harry felt good that there was someone else who knew how it felt to have their entire life turned upside down. He just needed to know there was someone else to feel a bit better. Adam returned not fifteen minutes after, eyeing the two boys as though they had the plague. Oh, wait. It was just Draco.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to wait outside." Adam said to Draco. Harry shook his head.
"He stays. Anything you need to say to me, or anything I need to say to you can be said in front of him." Harry glared at the man, daring him to challenge Draco's presence again. Adam motioned to the Auror, who escorted Draco from the room. Harry folded his arms, looked down, and refused to say anything to the questions Adam asked of him. Almost an hour of this tried his patience to the end. He finally allowed Draco back into the room, causing a smirk of triumph from the Boy Who Lived, who was not as sweet as everyone said. Adam told himself that he was choosing his battles. Harry knew he had won the first victory.
Reviews:
HoshiHikari4ever: Thanks for your review! Yeah, Lucius is really mean. Thanks again!
Andrea10: Remind me never to be around you when you're on sugar. As for you finding me, I attend a really small Catholic college. I doubt it's on the map. I like Harry Potter and Star Wars the best. We have two dogs at home, Jack Russell terriers. They're cute. I did read your whole review. Thanks for reviewing!
EriEka127: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it!
Tia: Thanks for your review. I'm glad you like my story so much.
The Lady Reaper of the Shadows: Thanks! I agree.
Nphipps: Thank you! Here's your next chapter.
Cat15: Thank you. I try, and they are such fun characters to work with.
SheWolfe7: Thank you! My Muses are picky and only let me write when they want me to. Unless they hit me over the head. Next chapter soon!
Bluebell-uk: Harry hated sneaking around from his friends. How would you feel if you had to do that? It was hard enough just trying to find some private time in the room to change clothes. He wouldn't have had the chance to get it out. Plus, he really doesn't like the Chamber and all. Bad memories, don't you think? Thanks for the compliment!
Hermionegreen: Thanks for your constant reviews. Yours actually called my Muse out. Thanks for that. I thought I was going to be blocked forever.
Jbfritz: Thanks! Here you go!
MarsMoonStar: Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Rachel A. Prongs: I hope the wait didn't kill you or anything. Come out of hiding. I won't say what happened. You're going to have to wait for the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing!
Numba1: Thanks. Lucius is evil, really evil. He knows that there are other forms of torture than just physical, and he uses them well. Some of the reviews actually inspired this part. Thanks for reviewing!
Tom, Matthew and Harry were all in the sitting room. Tom and Matthew were debating the uses of wormwood in a potion that they had been working on since Harry had come home. Harry, banned from lessons for the rest of the school holidays, was relaxing on the couch, playing with his Gameboy. Severus had just stopped to see them all, along with Draco. Severus had taken some blood from Harry to find the level of toxin in it and pronounced himself pleased by Harry's progress. Draco had made pompous looking faces behind his new guardian the whole time, causing Harry to smile. Severus had turned to catch Draco in whatever he had been doing, but he not been quick enough. Severus secretly knew what Draco had been doing and ignored it. He knew that neither boy had had little fun in their home lives and it was good to see the two of them as friends now.
"Harry?" Tom said, trying to reach the boy currently enthralled in the Super Mario World game.
"Hm?" Harry said, buttons working furiously. Matthew grinned from his chair. He had known that Harry would enjoy playing such games.
"Time for your potion." Harry's thumb snapped out and paused the game. While he was recovering, and quickly, he still felt the need for the potion more than he felt the need for food, but Nellie found that he was eating more, which pleased her to no end. Harry waited until Tom gave him the pre-measured dose. Harry sipped it slowly, showing the restraint that Severus had praised early on in his treatment. Harry knew that if he let the potion control him, then Malfoy would win. Nothing would be worse than that.
The thoughts of a father led to thoughts of his son as Harry handed the vial back to Tom and thanked him. He had found Draco to be just a teenager like himself, and horribly confused and frightened at what had been going on around him. The Mark burned occasionally, and the only relief that Draco could be given was a pain draught so potent that it made him sleep. Unfortunately, too much of the pain draught could cause dependence. Severus was very careful in administering it to his young charge, whom was now affectionately calling the snarky potions master, "Sev". Harry counted him among his friends now and wondered how Ron and Hermione would act.
He had sent them both letters, telling them that he had hidden himself when he had seen Death Eaters scanning the crowds for Harry Potter. They accepted his excuse and had sent their own Christmas gifts after receiving Harry's to them. Ron had given Harry a journal, spelled to keep all of Harry's secrets. Ron had said that there was no one, not even Dumbledore, who would be able to break into the journal. Hermione had sent him a copy of Hogwarts: A History. Well, they were starting to act alike, so he figured that more and more that he would be able to group them as a couple.
"Give me that thing." Tom said, snatching the GameBoy away and turning it off.
"Hey!" Harry protested, reaching for the game.
"You've rotted your brain long enough. Come play chess with me." Tom requested. Harry smiled and nodded. Okay, it was his game, but Tom had missed spending time with him. The two set up the chessboard between them and started into a slightly competitive game. Matthew, still worried about potions ingredients, called out tips and hints from the side that confused Harry more than anything else. He managed to check Tom, but Tom turned the check around on him and Harry conceded defeat by knocking over his king.
"Why do you always manage to beat me?" Harry asked, helping to put the pieces away.
"You are still learning strategy." Tom explained. "You know the moves, and you know some strategies, but they are becoming highly predictable. Your intuition is not helping any, because you don't trust it in a game." Tom said, looking Harry over. The teenager shrugged and looked at his teacher.
"Nope, don't trust it at all, except in life and death situations." Harry said. Tom, taking the announcement for what it was worth, pulled the boy into a hug before ordering him back to the couch. Harry picked up a book instead of his Gameboy and started into the joys of Weirs Commun's newest book. A half hour later found him napping, and Tom and Matthew in the lab, working on a potion. Harry jerked awake when he felt that something wasn't quite right. What was it?
He got off the sofa and wandered out into the hallway. Nothing there. He went back to the living room and looked out the windows. Nothing there. He wandered around the house, ducking Nellie's attempts to feed him, and looked for whatever was wrong. It felt like everything was surreal, like reality hadn't quite caught up to Harry from his dreams. Since the Mind's Snare, Harry's dreams had taken on a decidedly more surreal world. Nothing made sense in them. Severus said that this was normal, and that regular dreams would begin again after Harry was fully free from the potion. Harry kind of liked dreams with flying flowers. They were better than the dreams of Voldemort torturing someone. He shook off the bizarre feeling and returned to his book, wondering whether or not weird feelings were a side effect. He settled back down on the couch and dove into the pages once again, letting his feelings go.
Ten minutes later, a window was broken in and several wizards started pouring through it. Harry jumped to his feet and headed to the library, ducking curses all the while. He figured that none of them knew who he was. When he actually made it to the library, he found Tom and Matthew already taken to the ground by some of the same uniformed wizards. Two tackled him from behind. One of them rolled Harry over and pointed a wand at his face. "It's Harry Potter." He announced. Harry noticed the patch on the front of their robes. Ministry Aurors. He rolled his head to the side where Tom was already in wizarding handcuffs, his wand confiscated. Matthew was in the same situation, glaring at the Aurors with all the hatred he could muster. The Aurors helped Harry to his feet and two started to lead Harry towards the front door.
"You're okay, son." One of them said to Harry as they made it to the porch. Harry looked at him blankly. Kingsley Shacklebolt. His brain automatically told him that this man was in the Order of the Phoenix. "You're safe now." Harry felt the familiar hysteria rising in him and he fought it down. He didn't want to show any emotion to these men. He felt like he was going to cry. How dare they come into his home and attack his guardians? He pulled away from them and went back into the house, using his wandless magic to the best of his advantage. Thank goodness he no longer needed to use incantations. His secret was still safe. He pushed his way past several Aurors in front of the library door to find Tom and Matthew facing down some more Aurors.
"Avada..." Harry threw himself in front of Tom.
"NO!" Harry screamed, throwing an Expelliarmus charm at the Auror. The wand flew out of his hand and into Harry. "You can't kill him." Harry said, rounding on the other Auror, daring him to do something.
"Move away from him, son." Shacklebolt said as he came into the room, wand already raised. Harry shook his head and kept his position in front of Tom. Matthew was speaking quietly to Harry. "You there, quiet." Shacklebolt ordered. Matthew fell silent. He had been telling Harry to just let the Aurors take them. He and Tom didn't want Harry hurt in any of this.
"You can't hurt him." Harry said, taking his defensive post again. "We're connected." Harry told the Aurors. Several of them exchanged looks between them as though they weren't sure they could believe him.
"Come away from them, Harry." Shacklebolt said, moving forward towards Harry. He was hoping to get close enough to be able to get a stunning spell around the boy, but Harry seemed to know what he was doing and assumed one of his battle stances, wand pointing at the entire crowd of Aurors. One of the Aurors thought about possible headlines that could show up in the papers. "Boy Who Lived Holds Off Fully Trained Aurors" was a particularly amusing one. A series of hand signals around the entire group readied their wands and seemed ready to take out Harry if they needed to. Few wanted to do it, however.
"Harry." Tom whispered. Harry tilted his head to listen, still wary of the attacking Aurors. "Put down the wand, son." Harry shook his head the slightest bit, not allowing Tom to talk him into such a crazy idea. "I don't want you hurt." Tom said, conveniently forgetting the necklace that Harry wore constantly. "Harry, now." He whispered.
"They'll hurt you." He returned. Several of the Aurors wondered if they needed to go to St. Mungo's for mental treatment. Harry Potter was protecting Voldemort from Aurors. Something was wrong in the wizarding world. Harry eyed all the Aurors. There was no way he could take them all.
"Harry." Tom said louder. Several of the Aurors raised their wands a little higher. "Put down the wand." Harry's shake of the head surprised all the Aurors. What was going on here? "Now, Harry." Harry sighed and looked at the Aurors.
"If I put down my wand, you have to promise not to hurt either of them until Professor Dumbledore comes to the Ministry." Harry said, looking at Shacklebolt.
"You do realize that this is Voldemort?" One of the Aurors said in slight disbelief. Harry smirked.
"Yes, but I call him Tom." Harry said. "Not one spell is to be thrown in either of their directions until Professor Dumbledore has come." Harry said. "Otherwise, I'll just have to fight you all off."
"Harry, you're not strong enough." Tom hissed from behind him. Shacklebolt looked around at his squad.
"No spells are to be said until we have seen Professor Dumbledore." Shacklebolt said. "The prisoners are to be locked in maxiamum security cells. If I find so much as a hex thrown, I will throw that wizard into a cell myself." All of their wands slowly lowered. Harry lowered his own wand and turned to Tom.
"Why do you never listen to me?" Tom asked quietly.
"I did what I could. You can't die." Harry said. Harry allowed himself to be led away be an Auror, while others moved in to flank Tom and Matthew. Once outside the house, all three were Apparated to the Ministry of Magic. Harry watched as Tom and Matthew were thrown into separate cells. He was led to an interrogation room.
He had only been in the room for an hour or so when a man came in with a broad smile on his face. "Hello, Harry. My name is Adam. I've come to talk to you about what has been going on." Harry looked him over. The man was not a lawyer. He would have introduced himself as such. The easy going smile and casual name also pointed out that the man was trying to appear as a friendly on Harry's terms.
"Hello." Harry returned. Harry bet a galleon that this man was nothing more than a child psychologist.
"How are you feeling?" He asked as he sat down. Harry looked up, just a little amazed. How was he feeling? His home had been invaded, his guardians arrested, attacked by Aurors, and his withdrawal was starting to show again. How did this man think he was feeling?
"I'm okay." Harry answered. The man wrote something down on the tablet in front of him. Oh, this was definitely a shrink. But not like Matthew. Matthew never wrote anything down and always explained any psychobabble he used in front of Harry. This one even wrote in symbols.
"Were you hurt when they arrested You Know Who?" The man asked. Yes, Harry was hurt! The Aurors threatened his guardian's life. Harry wanted to roll his eyes at the absurdity of it all.
"No." He answered. Adam looked a little upset at the one word answer, but wrote something down anyway. Harry wondered why he could write so much about a one-word answer. He shrugged mentally and pulled out his Gameboy that he had put into a pocket.
"I'll let you mess with that in just a minute." Adam said. Harry sighed and placed it on the table. "How did you come to be with You Know Who?" Harry wanted to bash his head of the table. "I moved in with him after I left the Dursleys." He answered shortly. "What else do you want to know?" The man looked highly surprised to hear such a sentence come out of Harry's mouth. That was the longest sentence that the boy had spoken since he had come into the room.
"Why did you go to a wizard that was trying to kill you?" Harry fought down the urge to use wandless magic on the man.
"He hasn't been after me since the end of last year. He was protecting me." Harry told him. He saw disbelief on the man's face. "Look, Tom was not hurting me, I was safe there, and I'm fine." Adam looked down at the shaking hands that Harry had placed on the table and then back up to Harry's face.
"Sure you are." The man said, writing down some notes. Harry gritted his teeth and removed his hands from the table. His withdrawal symptoms were becoming worse. He folded his arms and the man wrote down another note. "Okay, Harry. I'll be back in a little while. If you need anything, let the guard know, okay?" Harry nodded and turned on his Gameboy. The stupid shrink left the room and went to the Head Auror's office.
"How is he, Doctor?" the man asked, turning a dial that allowed him to see Harry on the wall.
"He insists that he is fine, that he wasn't being harmed in any way, and that You Know Who was doing nothing more than protecting him." The doctor said. "He appears highly upset about something and withdraws into himself." He answered. "He's also slightly aggressive, but that could just be fear talking instead of him." The Head Auror nodded and watched the boy who was involved in some sort of Muggle contraption. What had happened to the savior of the wizarding world? How had he paired up with Voldemort?
Harry's hands eventually shook so hard he could not hold the Gameboy in his hands. He shut it down and looked around. Nothing else with which to amuse himself was in the room. He settled to counting ceiling tiles and found there to be exactly twenty-four in the closet like room. He decided to take stock of his situation.
Harry looked around the small interrogation room and sighed. Tom and he were still alive, Matthew was unharmed, and Professor Dumbledore had been called. He knew that Shacklebolt would have done so, with or without permission. Harry thought it an improvement over their prior situation. He rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes. They had been there for almost six hours now. He was an three hours overdue for his potion and he was certainly feeling the effects. He clenched his hands into fists to stop the visible shaking. He felt awful. He knew that if anyone looked into the room at that moment, they would know that something was seriously wrong with him. He pep talked to himself, telling him that he could beat a silly little potion. His body was screaming that he was wrong, but he ignored it. Shouting interrupted his mind mid sentence. He sat up as he recognized the voices. It was the headmaster and Professor Snape! He left his chair and banged on the door. "I'm in here!" He shouted. The lock clicked and the door opened.
"Harry, are you alright?" Dumbeldore said, looking over the shaking boy.
"No, he's not alright." Severus snapped, pushing past the headmaster, ignoring the Aurors ordering him out of the room. He pulled out a vial and opened it. "Open." Harry tilted his head back and opened his mouth. Snape stepped forward and poured the potion don his throat. Two Aurors pulled Snape away from Harry.
"Stop!" Harry ordered. To Dumbledore and Snape's surprise, the guards actually obeyed. "It's medication. He's not poisoning me. I trust him." The two Aurors released Snape, who brushed his robes off as though the two had carried dirt with them. Harry turned to his headmaster. "They've got Tom." He said sadly. "They were trying to kill him." Dumbledore nodded.
"I will do my best, Harry." Snape went to the door and motioned someone into the room.
"Draco's going to stay with you." Severus said. "We'll both be back soon." Severus and Albus swept out of the room, leaving the boys with an Auror standing in the room.
"Hello, mate." Draco said, steering Harry to a chair. "How you doing?" He asked, sitting down next to him.
"My home was invaded, my guardians arrested, and I was tackled by Aurors. I'm just peachy." Draco snickered at the statement, causing Harry to elbow him. "My life is falling apart." He mumbled from the table, where he had settled his head just a few seconds before while Draco was laughing at him.
"If it helps, I know how you feel." Draco said, one hand covering his left arm. Harry caught the significance and nodded.
"It does, a little bit." Harry said. Draco and Harry talked of school and classes, trying their best to ignore the guard left in the room. Harry felt good that there was someone else who knew how it felt to have their entire life turned upside down. He just needed to know there was someone else to feel a bit better. Adam returned not fifteen minutes after, eyeing the two boys as though they had the plague. Oh, wait. It was just Draco.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to wait outside." Adam said to Draco. Harry shook his head.
"He stays. Anything you need to say to me, or anything I need to say to you can be said in front of him." Harry glared at the man, daring him to challenge Draco's presence again. Adam motioned to the Auror, who escorted Draco from the room. Harry folded his arms, looked down, and refused to say anything to the questions Adam asked of him. Almost an hour of this tried his patience to the end. He finally allowed Draco back into the room, causing a smirk of triumph from the Boy Who Lived, who was not as sweet as everyone said. Adam told himself that he was choosing his battles. Harry knew he had won the first victory.
Reviews:
HoshiHikari4ever: Thanks for your review! Yeah, Lucius is really mean. Thanks again!
Andrea10: Remind me never to be around you when you're on sugar. As for you finding me, I attend a really small Catholic college. I doubt it's on the map. I like Harry Potter and Star Wars the best. We have two dogs at home, Jack Russell terriers. They're cute. I did read your whole review. Thanks for reviewing!
EriEka127: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it!
Tia: Thanks for your review. I'm glad you like my story so much.
The Lady Reaper of the Shadows: Thanks! I agree.
Nphipps: Thank you! Here's your next chapter.
Cat15: Thank you. I try, and they are such fun characters to work with.
SheWolfe7: Thank you! My Muses are picky and only let me write when they want me to. Unless they hit me over the head. Next chapter soon!
Bluebell-uk: Harry hated sneaking around from his friends. How would you feel if you had to do that? It was hard enough just trying to find some private time in the room to change clothes. He wouldn't have had the chance to get it out. Plus, he really doesn't like the Chamber and all. Bad memories, don't you think? Thanks for the compliment!
Hermionegreen: Thanks for your constant reviews. Yours actually called my Muse out. Thanks for that. I thought I was going to be blocked forever.
Jbfritz: Thanks! Here you go!
MarsMoonStar: Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Rachel A. Prongs: I hope the wait didn't kill you or anything. Come out of hiding. I won't say what happened. You're going to have to wait for the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing!
Numba1: Thanks. Lucius is evil, really evil. He knows that there are other forms of torture than just physical, and he uses them well. Some of the reviews actually inspired this part. Thanks for reviewing!