AN: University and a persistent and evil cold really messed up my time devoted to this story this week. I'm so glad that so many people like this story and I'll try and answer every reviewer with enabled pm feature. I love you guys and thank you so much for all of you for reading the story and all of your support.
A big applause for my beta: beau2809!
Chapter ten
(27th December 1993)
Harry sat and stared at the bound man in confusion. This man was supposed to be dead. Ron was spluttering on the bed, Lupin was down in the common room and was contacting Susan's aunt Madam Bones, the head of the DMLE. Professor McGonagall's wand pointed directly at the bound man as her expression was frozen in place. Harry had an insane urge to ask her if she would eat the man if he turned back into a rat, with her being a cat animagus and all, but decided that it might not be a good idea.
Everything seemed to move too fast as well as in slow motion. Ron was still spluttering on the bed, Harry stood frozen by the door. Professor McGonagall hadn't moved a finger. The only one moving in the dormitory was the rat turned man. How was he alive Harry wondered? And why had he spent this time as a rat?
The only sound came from the rat man's whimperings. Soon, however, it was joined by hurried steps coming up the stairs. Professor Lupin came in with a dignified but shocked looking woman with another much younger woman and two men who were about Professor Lupin's age.
The woman, who Harry assumed was Madam Bones, had blonde hair with streaks of grey. She wore spectacles and her air reminded Harry of a combination of professors Sprout and McGonagall. She looked stern, but Harry was quite sure she also smiled a lot; she had laughter lines in her face.
The younger woman's hair had changed colour as she took in the rat man. When she came in her hair had been pink, but it had shifted to black as she saw the man. She had a heart shaped face and while she was completely focused on the rat man and Madam Bones, Harry did see her sneak a glance at professor Lupin that took longer than her looks at the other occupants of the dormitory.
The first man was a tall black man with amazing robes. He had the same air about him as Madam Bones and he also took in the rest of the room's occupants. The final man was shorter with black hair and brown eyes that seemed to be taking some form of dictation of the events. Harry remembered that Susan had mentioned that the ministry took notes through a spell that made their words appear on a parchment. You apparently received special training to be the person performing the spell and taking documentation.
Soon Madam Bones took command.
"Professor McGonagall, I'll need you to stay in the room initially. We have another Auror on the way who was involved in the original case. He will help with the documentation and interview. He is bringing another Documentor." She paused and looked over the students.
"When he arrives we will escort the students and Professor Lupin to the common room. Professor Lupin due to your prior close connection you will need to be watched for a little while." The professor nodded at Madam Bones who looked relieved. They could hear the banging of other persons arriving.
"Well then. Professor Lupin, and Misters Potter and Weasley will need to be interviewed. Professor McGonagall and Mrs Weasley will need to be attending respectively. Auror trainee Tonks you will attend with Auror Shacklebolt and Documenter Grey." The named parties walked down and the Aurors raised privacy barriers between Harry, Ron and Professor Lupin.
They interviewed Professor Lupin first and then interviewed Ron as Mrs Weasley arrived. After they had been interviewed they had been allowed to walk out of the tower. Harry had been asked to stay since Professor McGonagall needed to attend, Professor McGonagall's interview had been done by Madam Bones. Apparently one of the child protection workers needed to attend as well. Harry recognised the worker who came out of the fire. He thought her name was McAllister. She wasn't as tall as Harry remembered, but he did remember her red hair and blue eyes correctly.
Harry's interviewers consisted of Auror Shacklebolt, Auror trainee Tonks and Documentor Grey. Professor McGonagall and Agent, as he learned her professional title was, McAllister. Kingsley led the interview.
"On the record and present is Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, Auror trainee Nymphadora," Tonks give him a nasty look," Tonks and documentor Joshua Grey. The witness is Harry potter with his temporary guardian Hogwarts professor McGonagall and Child protection service agent Isobel McAllister." He took a pause as Grey nodded at him in acknowledgement.
"Now Mr Potter please tell us in your own words what happened this evening. We might ask questions of clarification during this retelling of events, but feel free to begin wherever you want or take a break." Harry nodded.
"Well it really began with this map…" Harry talked for what felt like hours. He told them about the map, but not who gave it to him and how it was always correct.
"May we see it? Unless it's somehow a prohibited item you will have it back." Harry handed the map to Shacklebolt who nodded and whistled a bit.
"Very impressive charm work. You may keep it but we need it documented for evidentiary purposes." Grey examined the map and did some charm that made it glow.
Harry continued to tell them about how he approached Professor Lupin and how he sent some silvery thing in the general direction of the hospital wing. What they found and did in the tower, and when they called for assistance. The interview was finished and Harry was receiving instructions on what he might be needed to do at an eventual trial when the portrait banged open for another time that night.
Headmaster Dumbledore stormed in through the portrait with a thunderous expression on this face. Professor McGonagall and Madam Bones who had come down from the dormitory due to the noise walked towards him. Professor Dumbledore gestured wildly and Harry bent down to tie his shoelaces and listened in.
"Why wasn't I told about this? These proceedings are completely unnecessary I could have handled this myself. Minerva why in Merlin's name didn't you contact me?!" Professor McGonagall looked at him coolly.
"You were away and surely when a supposedly dead man shows up as an illegal animagus in a school dormitory as a pet the DMLE should be called in." Professor Dumbledore spluttered as Madam Bones and Professor McGonagall pushed him out of the tower. Harry could hear the raised voices as the argument continued out of sight.
(28th December 1993)
As it was past midnight, Harry was allowed to go up to his room again and somehow fell asleep at once. The next day sunshine woke him up as he lay fully clothed on the top of the duvet. Harry felt groggy and slowly blinked. The past few days had really been way too much. He rolled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He wanted to find Professor McGonagall and find out about what was really happening.
As he walked through the corridors he tried to not think. It wasn't particularly easy. Thoughts about the man who was supposed to have killed the rat man, if he hadn't killed the rat what about the rest of it? Had he really betrayed Harry's family? Thoughts about what would happen to Harry; he knew that it hadn't been known that Professor McGonagall was his temporary guardian. Would Dumbledore force him back to the Dursleys'? The mess with Hermione and Ron only added to this.
What Harry really wanted to do was to go up to the Ravenclaw tower and curl up in a chair and talk and play games with Sheila, Jessica, Terry and Anthony. But he couldn't do that right now. He needed to find out what was going to happen with all of this. He didn't trust that the adults would magically fix things so that everything would be alright.
Finally outside Professor McGonagall's office Harry listened to see if anyone else was in there. When he didn't hear anything he knocked. He held his breath and tried to remember to be mature and calm, as he needed to be to make adults even think about listening to a teenager. Yelling never got you anywhere, Harry had seen. Unless your parents were called Vernon and Petunia, that is.
The door was opened and Professor McGonagall looked up from behind her desk, she smiled tiredly when he walked in and waved her wand as a glimmering band swirled out and floated around the windows and doors. Harry raised his eyebrows in question.
"It's to negate any listening spells. Please sit down Harry. I'm glad you came to see me. I don't know much about what Madam Bones found yesterday but this afternoon there will be an emergency hearing. It's a beginning of a trial, but since the defence might need time it will be concluded many weeks later if a full trial is initiated. You will need to testify. As you're underage you will not need to be questioned fully. You can contribute your memories of the incident, just as the memories you gave to us to watch, do you remember?" Harry nodded. Professor McGonagall spoke clearly but Harry noticed that she spoke much quicker than normal and that she kept looking at the clock. He wondered why but tried to focus on the professor's words.
"Also Dumbledore is moving to have you put back with the Dursleys', which neither I nor the child protection service workers will hear of. I have a proposal to present to you, which I did intend for you to be given time to think about but when things are this way…" she smiled a bit at Harry. He thought it more closely resembled a grimace, but he still knew she tried to reassure him. At least Harry thought, she tries. She didn't give up or just thought that someone else knew what was best for Harry, she let him decide.
Harry slowly swallowed as he tried to get rid of the closed in feeling in his throat. He didn't really know what to say but nodded to Professor McGonagall to show that he listened.
"In your parent's will it's clearly stated that Sirius Black is your legal guardian if anything happens to your parents. It's been recently discovered that in the mess that was the Ministry after the war he was never given a trial. It's disgusting and horrible, but it does mean that technically he's your guardian. Due to the circumstances he could be seen as incapacitated, so his closest relatives could take care of you. Due to family politics one of the two possibilities are considered less close as the other cousin had formed a closer relationship to Sirius Black due to the cousin being thrown out of the family for marrying a muggleborn wizard. You met her daughter yesterday." Harry stared at her in confusion.
"Auror trainee Tonks is the daughter of Ted Tonks and Andromeda Tonks, nee Black. She had been proven to be completely separated from the rest of their family and very much against the death eaters. She is a safe and legal choice. We could make her your guardian with a scribble on a piece of parchment. However you need to make this decision Harry. I know that you've been let down by so many people, that I will not take this decision without you. However this is the best solution I can find that makes you safe." Harry felt dazed. To just pick someone you've never met as your guardian felt really weird. He looked at the professor.
"Could I meet them?" the professor looked startled and rose.
"Of course, I forgot." She looked at Harry critically.
"Mimsy." The house elf appeared next to Harry who jumped a little. He could swear that Mimsy smirked a little.
"Professor called Mimsy?"
"Yes Mimsy. Could you be so kind as to find a set of Mr Potter's formal school robes and bring them here?" the elf disappeared.
"How come she could hear you with all the charms?" the professor laughed a little.
"I know of no spell that the house elves cannot break through, if they feel it's necessary for their duties. Now we will go to the Tonks' and then directly to the Ministry. Professor Dumbledore isn't happy with recent developments as he wasn't consulted about them." Harry nodded and thanked Mimsy as he appeared with his robed. A few privacy charms later he had changed his clothes and needed to floo travel. Harry could vividly remember his misfortune with floo powder little more than a year ago. He stepped forward and shouted "Tonks' cottage!" hoping that he would get to the right place and that these potential guardians would be nice. He desperately didn't want to go back to the Dursleys'.