OLD MAGIC

Chapter 10: Interrogation

Harry blinked in shock as he sat on his bed. He hadn't changed for bed as he still had Astronomy class tonight (which he found rather weird having a class so late at night), so he was at least dressed when McGonagall sent a classmate up to get him as females weren't allowed in the male's dorms. Showing appropriate confusion on his face, Harry met her in the common room.

"Something wrong, Professor?"

"Your presence is desired in the Headmaster's office," she said primly.

"This late? But why?"

"You'll get your answer when you see Professor Dumbledore. Now come along," McGonagall said briskly, not enlightening him.

He was glad Professor Snape had been able to give him a forewarning. Following behind his hurrying house leader, he worked at strengthening his shields and preparing to defend himself against whatever he faced.

In silence they hurried through the silent corridors until they reached an ugly looking gargoyle. Harry wondered why they'd stopped as he couldn't see a door or stairwell anywhere.

"Ding Dongs!" McGonagall muttered.

Harry blinked in surprise to hear her mention a strictly muggle treat here of all places then was further surprised when the gargoyle began to move to the side revealing a hidden staircase. McGonagall headed upward immediately leaving Harry to shake his head and follow quickly after her, reaching a heavy door moments later. She swung it open without knocking, gesturing for him to precede her.

Inside, he saw the same thing Snape had, except Harry didn't know who these people were except for four of them. He halted in his tracks just a few feet over the threshold, his body unwilling to go further, but McGonagall put a hand to his midback and gently pushed him forward toward an empty chair. Since everyone there were sitting in a half circle, the chair was set in the center of the open space where the circle would have met. This allowed them to see him easily and he them without turning his head like an owl.

"Sit," she said, briefly, before leaving him to go take her seat next to Dumbledore's desk.

Gingerly, Harry sat down on the edge of the padded chair, clasping his hands in his lap, then gave all the strangers a curious stare while waiting for someone to tell him why he was there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Snape sitting a short distance from him...he didn't turn his head nor make eye contact. Glancing up at Professor Dumbledore, he let his face show confusion and a little fear but inside, he was calm and ready for battle.

"Forgive the late evening meeting, Harry but we need to ask you some important questions," Dumbledore said without preamble. "You see, at the time of your parents death, they were members of this group known as the Order of the Phoenix. We were too late to save them but did hope to rescue you, however, you were already gone. I'm sure you can appreciate the concern it caused us?"

"I guess, sir, but why does it matter now? It's obvious I'm fine," Harry said, frowning.

"Yes, but your disappearance caused a considerable stir as well as understandable grief and concern for your Godfather who didn't know what happened to you. He feels guilty as he was supposed to have seen to your safety should something happen to your parents," Dumbledore admonished him quietly.

Harry felt his face burn with shame as he looked over at the black haired man with the anxious expression on his face. Of course, Hagrid had told him when he was nine years old the terrible story of his parents death, about the man who had been made his Godfather, and their werewolf friend Lupin but, even though he was happy to have someone that had known his parents very well, he'd firmly decided there would be no contact with them. He feared for his guardians safety should his location be found out.

Seeing the man now, Harry felt he might have been a bit too hasty about that as Sirius Black looked haggard and worn from years of fighting the enemy and concern for Harry's welfare. He supposed he should have gotten word to Sirius somehow but that was water under the bridge now, all he could do was apologize and tell the man why he'd not contacted him.

"I am sorry Sirius. I was told, when I was old enough to understand, about my parents death and the names of their closest friends as well as the danger that still existed around me. Because of that, I forbade all those protecting me from telling anyone of my whereabouts. I couldn't bear for them to come to harm as well. I didn't mean to upset and worry you so," he said sincerely.

Sirius leaped from his seat and hurried to Harry who stood and allowed the man to hug him tightly.

"Oh Harry, you were but a little tike when last I laid eyes on you. I was so devastated when we could find no sign of you," Sirius moaned, nuzzling the boys hair a moment longer, so relieved to see the boy alive and healthy...Lilly and James would be so pleased at how well he'd turned out.

Taking a deep inhale of the boy's scent, he finally relaxed and stepped back a bit, his hands still on the boy's shoulders as he stared into those green eyes, so like his mother's it hurt deep in his heart.

"You look well. Someone treated you with proper care...now look at you, so much like your parents it's amazing," Sirius said, smiling warmly.

Harry returned the smile. He instantly liked the man. Despite his wild appearance, Harry could feel an inherent goodness within Sirius. He could see why his parents liked and trusted him well enough to entrust their only child to his care.

"I hope we have time soon for you to tell me about my parents," Harry said, sincerely.

Sirius smiled broadly. "Oh we shall, never fear."

"If you please, Sirius...we still must question the boy," Dumbledore interrupted quietly.

Sirius rolled his eyes but only Harry could see him do it, causing him to nearly laugh in amusement. His Godfather was a rogue and a prankster according to Hagrid but possessed a kind heart. Sirius winked at him then reluctantly released him to return to his seat.

Sitting down himself, Harry waited for the interrogation to begin.

"I'm afraid we must ask you a great many questions, Harry and you must answer as truthfully as you can. There is much fear about what your guardians may have taught you and where their allegiances are in regards to the those fighting for the light so it's important we determine if you are trustworthy," Dumbledore said, solemnly.

"I don't know how I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about so please ask away and I'll tell you what I can, though I suspect you will not like the answers," Harry said seriously, dropping his fearful and worried look for a more adult calculating and assessing one.

Dumbledore blinked in surprise. This was not the reaction he'd expected from a child of only eleven. When Harry stepped into the room, he was every inch a scared, little, boy but now there sat someone with old eyes gazing out of a very young face. Eyes that had seen much and held a great deal of knowledge. How could that be?

"Who took you away that night?" Moody barked, impatient with all the niceties going on and a little taken aback himself about the boy's demeanor though he didn't show it outwardly.

Harry gazed into Moody's odd eyes with no fear and said politely but firmly, "I can't tell you that, sir."

"Why?"

"For the same reason I wouldn't contact Sirius, to protect my guardians from harm."

"But if they are on the side of the light as we are, then they should unite with us to bring down this evil or are they just standing on the sidelines?" Shacklebolt stepped in to demand.

"They fight the darkness in their own way, sir, but feel joining with you is not in their best interests," Harry countered.

Affronted, Shacklebolt angrily asked, "Why do they think that?"

"The Order has suffered betrayal hasn't it?" Harry returned, bluntly.

"How the devil did you know that?" Was the shocked rejoinder from their ministry liaison.

"We know a great many things. There is so much evil in the land at the moment that trust is much like a snowflake in a storm, fleeting and hard to pin down. Mankind is so easily swayed by money, power, and greed that my guardians and their friends and allies feel it safer to keep their distance and watch from outside than become mired in the mess which is wizarding England."

"So they're not wizards. Are they muggles?" Lupin asked, curious.

"Are they pacifists?" Sirius demanded at the same time, disgusted. Not liking those kind of people.

Harry couldn't hold back the laughter that bubbled out. Just the thought of the centaurs being pacifists was enough to send him into gales of laughter. It took him a moment to control his giggles. He also ignored Lupin's question.

"Oh no... ha ha...not pacifists. They fight when they need to, keeping their borders free of the evil that seeks to invade them at every opportunity. Though they do prefer peace, as all intelligent creatures do, they don't hesitate to defend the right of all creatures to go about in peace and happiness. Anything that threatens that is fought fiercely and destroyed. Even now, they hunt continuously for the evil that is behind this unspoken war but Voldemort is sly and hides himself well however, his time will end soon enough." Harry's eyes were cold with certainty. He deliberately used the man's name to shock and disturb those in the room, keeping them off balance.

Everyone but Severus winced at the sound of the Dark Lord's name spoken so easily from Harry's lips. Even Moody paused to stare at the boy with surprised caution. How could one so young be so fearless and so knowledgeable? Someone taught him well but who?

Snape was smiling inside. Way to go Harry! Hope he can keep this up and get out of here intact.

"You seem incredibly well informed about who we're fighting and not frightened of him when your elders are terrified of just speaking his name." Moody questioned, trying to penetrate the boy's mind and finding himself completely blocked. Such a strong mindshield was unheard of in a child. Everything about the boy was an enigma. They were no closer to their answer than when they'd begun.

Harry shrugged. "Give evil the fear he wants and he's won half the battle. It's just a name and not even his true one...what is there to fear from a name? Speak it boldly and remove half his weapon, that is the way to win this war," he said wisely.

Sirius could only gape in amazement at his Godson. He was nothing like James except in appearance, that was for certain. But exactly who was this boy and how did he know so much?

Dumbledore felt they were being skillfully manipulated. He too couldn't pierce the boy's mind at all. The only thing he could detect was enormous untapped power that only waited for the boy to grow older to be used. There was no doubt in Dumbledore's mind that Harry would become a formidable warrior as an adult. And it made him sick to see that, despite the boy's young age, Harry already knew more of war than he should.

Already the boy possessed uncommon wisdom and intelligence. He glanced around the room and found everyone was clearly taken aback by the boy's coolness under the pressure they were applying. Someone taught this boy how to protect his mind and armed him with every fact they could so he wasn't ignorant as his classmates were about their enemy. No one seemed to know what to make of this.

"Someone has seen to your education, that much is obvious but you won't tell us who was responsible for it even now, will you?" McGonagall asked, certain this was true. He simply knew too much and she had a suspicion he was already ahead of his fellow classmates in many subjects but he was hiding that well.

Harry looked over at her, his eyes calm and regretful. "No, sorry, professor. I will only tell you they were good to me, raised me with love and caring and, yes, lots of education." He grimaced at that last part, remembering some of the boring lessons he'd had to sit through, making Molly Weasley laugh suddenly.

"Some was fun, some wasn't, eh?" She said, knowingly, a warm smile on her lips.

"Isn't that the way of learning?" Harry snorted, returning her smile with a wane one of his own. She had a kind face but he could sense she was a witch and a fierce fighter. The perfect mom for Ron that's for certain and no push over...he could feel the strength of her magic against his own. The skill levels in this room were strong...these were powerful wizards and witches and he could sense no traitors here, thankfully.

"Oh aye! My children will vouch for that," she agreed, laughing merrily, her husband grinning in agreement.

Moody struck his staff angrily against the floor, demanding everyone's attention. He was frowning at Harry. The boy was actually controlling this interrogation. Time to change that... "With his refusal to identify his caretakers, we still don't know if we can trust him. So we must give him Veritaserum." He glanced over at Dumbledore questioningly.

"Regrettably, you are correct Alastor. Severus, if you please?"

Snape jerked inwardly. He had brought the serum as he'd been instructed but was extremely reluctant to use it, however, he had no choice. He pulled it from his robes. Standing he walked over to Harry.

Harry stared up at him trustingly and opened his mouth without hesitation. Moody stiffened. The boy shouldn't have been so unafraid unless he felt none of the adults here meant him any harm or he knew something else. He limped over to stare down at the boy more closely as the serum was fed to him. Harry sat placidly as they waited the five minutes needed for the serum to take effect.

"What is your full name?" Moody barked, taking over the interrogation.

"Harry James Potter."

"Do you know anyone in this room?"

"Professors Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall and Sirius Black."

"Did you know any of them before coming to Hogwarts?"

"Only Sirius." Which of course was a lie since he'd met Snape over the summer.

"Who cared for you since you were an infant?"

"I can't tell you."

Moody gaped at him then jerked his head toward Snape.

"Don't look at me. That is a perfectly made batch. If you don't believe me, try it on someone else," Snape said flatly.

Scowling, Moody looked around the room. "Who'll volunteer?"

"Sorry, won't work on me," Lupin said, shrugging. Tonks shook her head. Others looked at the floor.

"For goodness sake, I'll take it," Molly sighed, resigned. Someone had to do it and it was obvious no else would volunteer. She grimaced when the serum touched her tongue, glad it numbed it after the first disgusting taste. "You make the most nastiest potions, Severus," she remarked.

"I try," Snape snorted, a tiny smile tugging his lips. He liked Molly and she knew it as she gave him a tiny smile back.

Grumpily, Moody quickly tested Molly and found the serum worked just as Snape said it would. Scowling even more, he turned back to Harry. "You felt nothing from the serum?"

"No sir, sorry."

Turning his head to Dumbledore, he growled. "Well now what do you suggest we do, Albus?"