Authors note: I hope no one was confused by the OC in the previous chapter: I had hinted at him a few times and he was originally going to have a bigger role. However for anyone confused the officer who took the hair was the teacher who had tried to help Harry in chapter 7.
In this chapter you'll get to see what the article said. The question is, how will the wizarding world respond?
Back at the Burrow while Arthur had sat in his kitchen drinking tea and contemplating how he got into his current situation his wife was sat upstairs on the bed doing her own thinking.
They had spoken after the boys had gone to bed, where she had been brought up to speed with the situation. Arthur had explained exactly what kind of trouble Vernon Dursley was in in regards to illegal substances. His wife was shocked, unable to believe Dumbledore would be so irresponsible to not pick up on it!
This reaction made Arthur hesitate on sharing his suspicions on what Harry's home life must have been like. His wife was well meaning but sometimes lacked subtlety. If she thought one of her children was hurt or at risk (and there was no mistaking that Harry had become part of her brood) she would go in fire's blazing to protect him. It was something the red headed man loved about his wife but simultaneously knew to watch out for. If he was wrong, or worse, if he was right but Harry wasn't ready to discuss it, the topic would need to be approached and handled very carefully. He decided to speak to Dumbledore first to make sure there was something left to talk to before he set his wife loose.
Finally, mentally and emotionally exhausted they had gone to bed, but neither getting any rest. Unfortunately, Arthur hadn't detected a certain reporter going around and was therefore not prepared for what happened when his wife got the morning paper.
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Now Arthur was in the kitchen trying to figure out his next move. Weather to speak to Harry, Dumbledore or the Ministry first (Molly had voted that order, he was leaning towards him taking the headmaster and her taking Harry first then him speaking to the boy after).
Part of Molly just wanted to hide Harry away, to disguise him as any normal child and let him live a life where the biggest concerns were quidditch and schoolwork!
Unfortunately it seemed this would never be the case.
As she sat there she started to absent-mindedly fold some laundry, hoping to distract herself long enough for her mind to calm and a solution to become clearer.
Taking a breath she tried to focus on the advantages they had to work with: Harry would soon be at the world cup which would pose a nice distraction for the boy, Arthur would probably speak to Dumbledore soon which would help them form a plan to finally get Harry away from those awful people! After all, the older man could hardly let an underage boy live with criminals! He's still traumatised from the Sirius Black incident!
Arthur had told her how Harry still believed the man innocent and she almost wasn't surprised. How could someone so kind accept people were capable of such horror?
She wasn't stupid, she knew Harry was more mature than his age would suggest, and he had seen plenty of horror in the form of You Know Who and his actions.
But this was different, this was a friend of his parents, someone they trusted with their lives, betraying them and becoming a mass murderer.
It was then she decided to talk to the Headmaster about getting some kind of therapist in to speak to Harry, Ron and Hermione too if she could. Maybe a group session? Ginny could benefit too after the Chamber of Secrets chaos.
Maybe a councillor was needed as a permanent feature in Hogwarts?
Unfortunately her view on the Headmaster was about to take a dive when she heard a slight tapping on the window: an owl with the morning edition on the Prophet.
Horror struck her as she read the headline:
Harry Potter saviour or victim?
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Harry Potter Saviour or Victim? By Reeter Skeeter
Harry Potter (14), also known as the Boy Who Lived, has spent the majority of his life being hidden from the wizarding world by none other than the Headmaster of Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore.
The man has always insisted it was for the boys own good. That he needed a life away from the public eye safe with his family.
However, this reporter now has it of excellent authority that this 'home' life is not so safe!
That the saviour of the wizarding world has in fact been living with dangerous criminals who should have no right having children in their house, let alone our saviour!
Vernon Dursley (the Uncle of Harry Potter, fortunately only related by marriage) has been arrested for a range of crimes related to illegal substances, and his wife (Harry's Aunt, sister of Lily Evans-Potter, Harry's mother) was brought in for questioning in relation to both his crimes and child neglect.
Could it be Harry Potter has been trapped with a drug lord?
To make matters worse it appears during the raid on the family home at Number 4 Privet Drive the Muggle Law Enforcement team found the young boy locked up ripping out clumps of his own hair!
Could it be the boy's fearless actions he has previously been praised for at school are a deep rooted trauma resulting from abuse? Was in interest less about trying to save people and more a desire go out with a bang?
Did Albus Dumbledore, a man who has insisted he's been monitoring the boy for all these years really missed something so major? Or did he knowingly leave an innocent boy with a dangerous criminal?
Could it be all these years he's been trying to mould Harry Potter into his perfect puppet?
Trying to convince the boy he had no one, so that the man would appear like a cool glass of water in a scalding desert, the only source of hope as a twisted way of earning the boys undying loyalty?
The only thing we know for sure is the parents of the wizarding world are going to have a lot of questions for the man currently in charge of their children's futures.
More to come as information becomes available.
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Molly couldn't believe it.
Her mind was spinning!
Could it be true?
Did Dumbledore know all along?
He couldn't have! Surely!
He was a great man, a powerful wizard and a respected headmaster. He had no problem earning the loyalty of practically anyone who wasn't a homicidal maniac, hell, he'd even won some of them over, just look at Snape: a former death eater!
Yet, his behaviour with Harry was odd.
And he never seemed to want others to look too hard into Harry's home life.
Could it be?
NO! She told herself firmly.
She had to calm down. This was all nothing more than a miscommunication. It had to be.
Taking a deep breath she decided she would be rational. She would talk to Arthur to make sure they had a plan in store for how to protect Harry from this article, it was sure to distress the boy after all. Together they had to find a way to make things better. She picked up the laundry basket and went to head for the garden to put the wet stuff on the line. As she headed down the stairs she head a knock but didn't think on it, she had to be focused on doing the right thing for Harry.
His wellbeing was what mattered right now, and she was going to provide the best care she could.
She was going to help him.
She was going to clothe him.
She was going to feed him.
She was going to care for him.
She was going to love him.
Suddenly she saw the old headmaster standing in the doorway and all thoughts of calm rationality evaporated…
She was going to kill him!
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Albus Dumbledore was walking up the path to the Burrow. It had been 2 hours since he'd read that ridiculous article yet he felt he had made no progress whatsoever!
It had been distressing to see news owls still flying about delivering their papers blissfully unaware of the trouble they were causing!
The old wizard felt he'd wasted his precious little time with the minister when he should have gone straight to Harry! Or the newspaper! Or Privet Drive! Or the Magical Law Department! Or the muggle police! Or anyone who was actually competent!
Dumbledore had always been an early riser and as a result he paid an extra knut to get the early edition of the paper, it was an option few went to but due to Owls taking longer to fly to certain locations it had become an option to have your morning paper sent out a couple hours earlier, this meant he had received his paper about 6 this morning rather than the usual 8-9am that most others got.
He had finally walked out of his meeting with the minister and was now heading down the path to the Weasley residence. A quick check had confirmed Harry had arrived there the night before and he was desperate to check the boy was alright and find out what he knew before making his plan of action. He also intended to intercept any newspapers and advise Molly keep Harry in the house for a few days until this was all under control.
However the look he saw on Molly Weasley's face from the stairs as her husband opened the door was enough to say he missed the paper.
The next thing he saw was socks.