Chapter 11 For His Own Protection
Shadow bowed his head for a moment then looked up at the man in front of him. "I don't care. Whatever you say, I don't care. Chandos is my father and LeAnn is my mother. If Chandos took me then he had good reason. I don't think he did anything wrong. He saved my life when he took me. You say you're my guardian but you also said you placed me with my aunt and uncle and would have placed me with my godfather but you didn't keep me yourself so that means you didn't want me either. Well, my family does want me so just solve your problem by sending me back home."
"I can't do that Harry, this is where your parents wanted you to go to school. This is where you belong now. How about if we compromise, I'll have the wizarding children's services investigate your family and if they decide that they are fit guardians for you then I will let the adoption stand provided they allow you to finish your education here. What that means is that you will cooperate with me in your education and you will be able to spend Christmas holidays and summer vacation with your family. Is it a deal?" Albus asked.
"I don't know; I want to talk to my father before I agree to anything." Shadow answered.
"That I can't allow right now. You were brought to my care in protective custody yesterday. Until the children's services review your case you are restricted to my personal quarters for your own safety. I'll tell you what, how about if I get us both a dinner tray and we move to the living room to eat and talk. I know you must be hungry because the sleeping spell used on you was powerful enough to keep you asleep for almost 26 hours."
"Alright but can I get dressed first and I need to use the bathroom." Shadow's face reddened.
Albus grinned and with eyes twinkling he pointed to the second door. "The loo is in there. Your clothes were sent to be washed so I'll get you a robe that you can borrow for the time being. When your dressed just come into the other room and I'll have dinner for us."
Albus left the bedroom and shut the door behind him. When he heard the door to the loo shut he quickly removed the wards from the spare bedroom and placed them over the whole suit of rooms excluding his own bedroom. It wouldn't do for the boy to find out that he was a prisoner yet, nor would it do for the boy to go into his own bedroom. Too many things in there that the boy might question. Albus went to his bedroom and grabbed a set of student robes, casting a quick spell he enlarged them to a size he thought would fit Harry, and he then took the robes and placed them on the boy's bed. He would find them when he came out of the loo. That done Albus summoned a house elf and asked for two dinner trays to be brought up.
When the trays were brought he quickly got a sky blue potion and opening the vial he added two drops to the glass of pumpkin juice on the boy's tray. That should do the trick. Now to wait for the boy so they could have their 'talk'.
When Shadow finished with his personal business he took a quick shower then entered his room. There were two black robes on the bed which he guessed were left for him to wear. No underclothes or shoes though. Not even any jeans to wear under them. He hoped his clothes got back from being cleaned soon. Wearing just a robe was going to be uncomfortable. Oh well, nothing he could do about it now. He pulled one of the robes on then buttoned it up. After getting as dressed as he could he left the bedroom for the living room. The man, Mr. Dumbledore was sitting at a small table with two trays of food waiting for him.
"Sit Harry, eat." Albus smiled merrily when he heard Harry's stomach growl.
Shadow sat down on the other chair and pulled the tray toward himself. Picking up his fork he almost dove into the meal. Until he had seen the food he hadn't really know how hungry he was. When he had finished everything on his tray he pushed it back from himself and sat back on the chair waiting for the older man to finish eating. After Albus was finished he to pushed his tray back then asked Harry to come sit in a more comfortable chair in the sitting area of the room.
Shadow chose a squishy love seat and curled his legs under himself getting comfortable. He didn't feel the spell being cast on him when his back was to the old man nor did he feel the effects of the potion he had drank with the juice.
Albus sat on a chair across from Harry and began. "I'm going to ask you a little bit about your life with your family so I can present a factual case to the children's services. Please answer my questions truthfully and feel free to add any information you feel will help your case during the investigation. Tell me about the school you attend Harry."
"I don't go to school. I don't think my family thinks they can teach me anything more than what they do at home. All of us children are home schooled."
"All right, I understand that. How old were you when you got your wand and what spells can you do?"
"I don't have a wand and I don't do spells or at least I don't think they are spells. I use a staff and just think of what I want done and if I concentrate hard enough the magic just happens without a spell."
"Do you do any work around your house?"
"Yeah, that's something my father insists on. We all have to work at chores."
"What about exercise?"
"Every morning at 5:00 A.M. we get up and exercise come rain or shine we run till we're about ready to drop then we have to fight. All this before breakfast." Shadow's eyes started to water. He reached up and wiped them before looking back at Mr. Dumbledore waiting for the next question.
"What about time to play or time for leisure."
Shadow was starting to feel warm and his eyes kept watering. Albus noticed the problem the boy was having handed him a handkerchief. "Are you ok Harry?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. About play time or time off…after dinner we get time off and on Saturday we get time to play. On Sunday we always do something together as a family." He said wiping the tears that were dripping from his eyes. What was wrong with him?
"Does your father ever use corporal punishment?" Albus asked.
"I don't know what that is."
Albus smiled, "Do you ever get hit or beat as punishment?" he explained.
Shadow looked horrified, "No, never. My father would never hit us like that. When he needs to punish us he just restricts us from something. That's all."
"So he never denies you food I would guess."
Shadow looked down and held the handkerchief to his eyes. "No. he wouldn't deny us food." He mumbled.
"Harry, are you sure you're alright? We can finish this tomorrow if you would like." Albus said.
Shadow looked up at the man. "I think we should finish tomorrow. My eyes won't stop watering for some reason."
Albus stood. "I believe I have a potion that could help with that. It's probably a slight allergic reaction to something on your dinner tray." That said he went into his bedroom and came back out with a small vial of potion which he handed to the boy. "Harry, there are some rules you need to follow for the time being. They were given to me by the children's services for your own protection. Do you understand?"
Shadow opened the potion and tipped it into his mouth. "What rules?" he asked after he swallowed.
Albus smiled. "1. You may not leave these rooms without my permission and without me being there. 2. You are not permitted to mix with the other students yet. 3. You are not permitted to answer any questions that anyone asks you unless I give you permission first. 4. Until further notice you are not allowed outside. Hopefully I can get at least some of these restrictions lifted tomorrow but until they are lifted you must follow these rules. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, what you're saying is that I'm a prisoner here till some jerk in protective services backs off." Shadow yawned.
"Tired? The potion I gave you has that side effect. Why don't you go on back to bed and take a nap." Albus stood and offered a hand to help Shadow to his feet.
"Thanks." Shadow said as he pulled himself to his feet. He stood there swaying for a moment before he made his way back to the bedroom he had waked up in. Once there he threw himself across the bed and fell asleep again.
Albus stood in the doorway till he was sure Harry was asleep then he took out his wand and removed his clothes then lifted him off the bed and once again tucked him under the comforter. Smiling he then swished his wand removing the spell he had put on the boy after they had eaten dinner. "Sleep well my boy" he whispered.
In the morning Albus checked to make sure his charge was still sleeping then wrote a quick note which he put on the table before he left his quarters. Once downstairs he called a house elf and instructed him to bring breakfast to the boy when he woke up and called for it. Albus then made his way to the great hall where he sat down and enjoyed a good meal with his staff. After breakfast he informed Minerva that he had some business to attend to that would be taking him out of the castle this morning and would be unavailable for quite some time. "When I return I will be sure to let you know my dear."
"Of course Albus. Is there anything that I can help you with?" She asked.
"No, everything is under control. I just can't put this off till later." He answered. Then he bid her good day and went up to his office.
Once in his office Albus took a pinch of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace after casting a quick Incendio. Sticking his head in he called for Wizarding Children's Services. The receptionist answered the call with a surprised look on her face. "Headmaster, how may I help you?"
"Dortia correct?" He asked.
"Yes sir" she said pleased that he remembered her name from school.
"Dortia, I need to set up an appointment for about 10:00 this morning with Mr. Felis. This is a private matter concerning the safety and health of a minor child who has come under my care recently. Can you be a dear and set it up for me?"
"Of course headmaster. I would be honored to help you in any way I can." She said.
"Thank you my dear. I'll floo through at 10:00 then." With that he broke the connection.
Going to his cabinet he took out his pensive and began transferring memories to show to Mr. Felis. Humming a little tune Albus had high hopes that this part of the plan would be completed this morning then he could move on to the next part.
At 10:00 A.M. Albus gathered his pensive and throwing a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace he stepped inside and shouted Wizarding Children's Services. Stepping from the fireplace in the reception area he held out his hand to greet Dortia. "Good morning again my dear, I trust that you had no problem setting up my appointment."
"Oh no sir, Mr. Felis is waiting for you in his office. Do you know where it's at?" She said as she shook his hand.
"Yes, of course I do Dortia, So nice to see you once again." With that Albus made his way to the office of Mr. Jonathan Felis.
When he opened the door and stepped inside Felis rose to his feet and came around the desk to greet him. "I hope everything is ok? Does this have something to do with the order Albus?" Felis asked.
"In a very real sense it does my friend but regardless of the importance to the order the information I am bringing to you may well save the life of an innocent child. I would have brought the child with me but at this time he is emotionally very fragile and not up to any questioning from strangers. Instead I have brought you my pensive with the memories of a talk we had last nigh. I am hoping we can settle this problem for the child's best interest today as I am sure you will agree after looking at these memories, he needs stability with someone who will love and care for him." With that Albus set the pensive down on Felis' desk
Stirring the memories with his wand both men leaned forward and entered the pensive.
The two men watched the first memory play out. Felis sucked in his breath as he looked at the malnourished, bruised boy curled up on the love seat.
Tell me about the school you attend Harry."
"I don't go to school. I don't think my family thinks they can teach me anything"
That memory sunk and the next one rose to the surface.
How old were you when you got your wand and what spells can you do?"
"I don't have a wand and I don't do spells"
One after another the memories played out.
"Do you do any work around your house?"
"Yeah, that's something my father insists on"
"Every morning at 5:00 A.M. we get up and exercise come rain or shine we run till we're about ready to drop then we have to fight. All this before breakfast." Shadow's eyes started to water. He reached up and wiped them before looking back at Mr. Dumbledore waiting for the next question.
"What about time to play or time for leisure."
Harry's eyes kept watering. Albus noticed the problem the boy was having handed him a handkerchief. "Are you ok Harry?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. About play time or time off…after dinner we get time off." He said wiping the tears that were dripping from his eyes.
"Does your father ever use corporal punishment?" Albus asked.
"I don't know what that is."
Albus smiled, "Do you ever get hit or beat as punishment?" he explained.
Shadow looked horrified, "No, never."
"So he never denies you food I would guess."
Shadow looked down and held the handkerchief to his eyes. "No. he wouldn't deny us food." He mumbled.
After the last memory was viewed the two men backed away from the pensive. Felis, with a trouble look on his face asked Albus, "Do you believe him when he said he isn't denied food and isn't beaten?"
"You saw the boy. Those two questions frightened him more than the others and you saw for yourself how thin he is and you saw the bruises on his face. What do you think?" Albus asked.
"I think I need his fathers name so I can get a warrant issued for his arrest. Harry, is that his first name? What's his last name? Is he a student at Hogwarts Albus?" Felis said.
Albus sighed looking very sad. "His parents are dead and did not leave a will. He was placed with his aunt and uncle when he was a baby. He was kidnapped when he was three and he was found and rescued from his kidnapper just two days ago. His name is Harry Potter."
"Merlin" Felis breathed out quietly. "The Harry Potter?"
Albus nodded his head "Now you understand why this needs to be handled quietly and quickly. If the press got a hold of this they would have a field day with it. I can imagine the headlines now. Boy Who Live Abused By Kidnappers for 11 Years or perhaps something along the lines of Ministry Placed Boy Who Lived In Unsafe House…Leads to Kidnapping and Severe Child Abuse. Did you know that his aunt and uncle SOLD the boy to his kidnappers? Jon, can you get me custody of him and a protective order preventing his aunt and uncle as well as his kidnappers from coming near him? After he was kidnapped he was taken to America and if you can believe it adopted by his kidnapper. We have to protect this boy from any further harm and he needs to be trained to use his magic. I would keep him safe at Hogwarts and arrange for tutors to bring him up to his class level. I would give him the love he needs and the safety he deserves."
Felis nodded. "I'll get the papers to you by this afternoon. I still want the name of that animal who abused him and if you can get me an address that would be great. I want him in Azkaban for what he did to that boy."
"When Harry feels comfortable enough to tell me I will be sure to let you know." Albus said. Standing he shook Felis' hand and then floo'ed back to his office.
Albus smiled when he reached his office. That part of the plan was complete and he owed it all to a potion that caused eyes to water and a well thought out glammor charm.
If needed I can supplly a time line for this story. I don't want anyone confused about when things are going on. Thanks threelade