The Lost, The Damned and The Potters
Chapter 3
"Prongs?"
"Moony? Is that you?" James asked, staring in disbelief at the man at the entrance.
"Is that you?" Remus countered, drawing his wand.
Lily's eyes went wide but her husband stepped out between the beds and transformed into a handsome and magnificent stag, one she remembered seeing and even meeting in the forest a few times.
"Prongs," Remus whispered, dropping his wand as James changed back.
"Hey Moony… OOF" James tried to say before Remus pulled him into a rib cracking hug.
"Prongs," Remus mumbled happily, not noticing James steadily reddening face.
"Moony… can't… breathe… ribs… breaking… Lily… help?" James wheezed out, glaring as Lily giggled at him.
"Lily," Remus said, releasing James and hugging Lily, much more gently to a winded James' annoyance.
"Hello Remus," Lily greeted, smiling at her friend.
"I can't believe it worked," Remus mumbled, "I was going out of my mind when I realised where he'd gone."
"Dumbledore mentioned he did… whatever it was, in the Chamber of Secrets," Lily said, sitting down on a bed and motioning for Remus to sit.
"Yeah, Harry had it cleared out during the last Summer by the goblins; he made a small fortune from the dead Basilisk…"
"DEAD BASILISK!"
"It was killed the year before after a series of petrification's including Sirius' daughter Serina and her best friend Hermione Granger," Remus partially explained.
"After that he got permission to repurpose the Entire Chamber, claiming his right as the Heir of Slytherin through the Rite of Conquest. Which meant he got private access to a large part of Slytherin's personal Library, which is where he found the ritual," Remus continued.
"Slytherin's personal Library," Lily whispered in disbelief and envy, James and Remus chuckled at the bright sparkle in her eyes.
"Any way," Remus continued, "He began making the arrangements secretly, he was in the final preparations by the time me and Serina discovered his notes. We ran down here but he opened the portal before we could reach him, not that Serina didn't try to anyway, and went through. The portal then shrank to the size of a teabag and remained that way for at least four hours, during that time I got several of the teachers and Poppy down there while Serina kept pacing the room and glancing at the portal, eventually, you two appeared after four hours in a bright flash of light each and half an hour after that the portal opened and Harry stepped out. He slumped against one of the pylons that projected the portal and didn't seem to notice anyone or anything; it took him several moments to notice Serina when she ran up to him. I thought she was going to chew him out but she just wrapped her arms around him as he cried, he cried until he fell asleep in her arms."
"Why was he crying?" Lily asked Remus, worried.
"He planned an indirect intervention," Remus reminded them, pointing to the two makeshift Time Turners, "Which sadly meant that after he put his plan in place, he had to wait everything else out. There's been rumours about that night among the muggles in the village, many of whom believe the house is haunted and haven't approached in years, apparently the night was so still and quiet you could hear everything from the town square."
"Oh Merlin," Lily whispered, tears welling in her eyes at the thought of Harry having lived through that twice. James slid his arm around her waist and hugged her gently.
"What was the ritual?" James asked concerned at what his son might be delving into.
"Nothing Dark," Remus assured his friend, "Extremely delicate in the set up, but otherwise ludicrously simple. It's only ever touched on in post-Roman texts and never written of in detail, Harry got lucky down here."
"So Voldemort and his people don't know?"
"Of course not, or he would have used it already," Remus replied, "Harry's also learning Occlumency from Nicholas Flamel in order to keep it that way."
"Flamel?" James whispered, Lily just staring in disbelief.
"During Harry's first year Dumbledore hid Flamel's Philosopher's Stone in the school, Harry got caught up in a plot by Voldemort to steal it. It failed and the Stone was destroyed except for a single three-inch shard that was buried in Harry's leg, he sent it to Flamel with a note. Flamel wrote back offering private tutoring in exchange for granting him and Perenelle the chance to live long enough to make another Stone."
Lily and James just sat there, taking it all in for a moment as Remus checked the time.
"I think we should head to the kitchens for breakfast," Remus suggested.
Lily and James agreed and followed Remus out of the Hospital wing with Madame Pomfrey's permission.
The three walked out of the Hospital wing and headed for the staircase, only sparing a quick glance down a side corridor when they heard a commotion at one of the broom cupboards.
They had descended the stairs on the North side of the staircase and had reached the first floor landing when all the staircases suddenly changed, forming an unobstructed path down the south wall.
"What the?" James said, but any further thought was stopped by the sight of a strangely familiar boy traversing the path down the south wall with a large vortex of wild magic surrounding him.
"Is that… Harry?" Lily asked in disbelief.
"Looks like he got your temper," James said, trying to joke but failing.
"Someone has made him really angry," Remus mumbled as Harry reached the bottom of the staircase followed by a girl with wavy black hair and a tall, gangly boy with bright red hair.
As the three children reached the entrance hall, the stairs returned to normal, allowing everyone who had been stranded to move. Lily, James and Remus took their chance to reach the ground floor and follow Harry.
They entered the Great Hall to find Harry standing next to a group of five Ravenclaw girls, glaring down at them as the black haired girl and red haired boy stood about ten feet back.
They stopped in surprise, but as they were about to move towards them, Harry spoke to the Ravenclaws, his voice sending a visible shiver through everyone in the Hall.
"Why?"
Three of the Ravenclaws flinched away, looking very guilty and ashamed, of the other two, one looked very afraid while the other was trying to sneer at him.
"Why, what?" the dark brown haired girl asked.
"Why do you lock a claustrophobic girl in broom cupboards?" he replied, but it was clear it was a rhetorical question, his voice still deathly cold, "why do you take her from her bed at night and lock her outside the tower? Why did I have to arrange for our dorm guardian to let her in when that happens? Why do you steal her possessions and force her to continue through the day without her shoes, books and even her wand? Why does it fall to a Gryffindor to defend a Ravenclaw from the tormentors in her own house?" the last question was asked to the hall, which was now pretty full but none of the Ravenclaws had dared sit at their table.
Professor Flitwick was quite shaken at what apparently went on in his house, "What on earth do you mean, Mr Potter? What has been happening?"
"What I mean, Professor?" Harry answered fiercely, surprising the staff, "Is that YOUR house has been repeatedly and viciously attacking one of their own, under your very nose, for the simple fact she has eccentric beliefs. Neither you, nor any other staff member, could be bothered to protect her, none of your realised she was being bullied when she arrived in your classes without a full uniform or missing materials, you punished her instead of investigating. I have been trying to make it stop for over a year, because you won't."
All the teachers looked like they'd been slapped, except Snape who had investigated when Potter brought it to his attention, he remembered the conversation well:
"Professor, can I talk with you for a moment?"
"What is it, Potter?" Snape asked, not looking around as he sorted through the store cupboard for the ingredients he'd need next lesson.
"It's about a friend of mine, she's being bullied for being… different."
He dropped the jar he had just picked up, which luckily had an unbreakable charm on it, that was all too familiar to him.
"Why come to me? Surely your Head of House or theirs would be more appropriate,"
"McGonagall doesn't give a damn because she's a 'claw, and Flitwick can't see a damn thing even when she's bullied in front of him. Sprout was no help either, she said it was Flitwick's problem," Potter replied angrily, "You're my last chance, after all, you know what it's like to singled out for being different."
That hit him deeply, Potter Senior had indeed bullied him because of his greater than usual knowledge of the Dark Arts, but he had someone who would stand up to Potter for him, who wouldn't abandon him, and, although he was reluctant to admit it out loud, Potter Senior had changed for the better during their Sixth Year and stopped bullying him and the other Slytherins, only retaliating when necessary.
"Tell me the name and I'll look into it,"
"Luna Lovegood."
Snape had been surprised and alarmed by what he saw, and took any excuse to be as foul to the perpetrators as he was to Potter, that combined with Potter's efforts had ended almost all the bullying, almost but not quite all.
"So what?" burst the brown haired girl, "It's not like she has any friends, she doesn't belong here…"
"She has me!" Harry roared, cracks started to appear in the stone floor and the table surfaces as several windows broke, "and what gives you the right to judge? What has she done to deserve this?"
"She's a freak!" the girl blurted out angrily, ignoring her friends who had been trying to subtly tell her to shut up, "Freaks shouldn't go to Hogwarts!"
The hall was silent for a moment, before a loud and frightening groan echoed through the hall. Huge cracks suddenly snaked up the walls; the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables splintered and broke in several places, the cracks in the flagstones grew before the stones broke as if a troll had slammed a huge hammer into them, dozens of students hastily cast shield charms as every window in the hall shattered and broken glass cascaded downwards.
"A freak?" Harry asked in an unnaturally calm voice, the girl paled suddenly as she realised her mistake, "That is your justification? Just because she believes in things you've never heard of or seen?"
He took a deep breath as he tried to control his temper, "That is how you justify stealing her things, Locking her out of Ravenclaw Tower at night, Locking her in broom cupboards knowing she's claustrophobic? Well, today you can be proud of yourselves for moving up from bullying to psychological torture, locking her in a broom cupboard after casting a Nightmare curse inside it, Bloody brilliant!"
"What do you mean Torture?" Professor Sprout asked in horror as almost the entirety of the other three houses were glaring at the Ravenclaws, even the majority of Slytherins.
"The curse they used forces you to see you worst memory, not unlike a Dementor's aura, Luna's worst memory is the death of her mother which she witnessed, I saw my own mother's corpse when I and Neville broke in to rescue her, I can only imagine how long she was there," Harry continued, horrifying and angering many students and staff, as well as making his parents pale considerably.
Harry then fixed the Brown haired girl, "Do you know that you sound like my old Guardians?" the girl shook her head, "No? They used to call me a freak because I had magic. They used to say that freaks don't deserve to have new clothes or toys, they didn't deserve to have a real bedroom, or full meals, just scraps if that." The teachers, especially McGonagall and Remus were going increasingly pale.
"And do you know what else? They said freaks don't get good marks at school or free time at home. I was their slave, I cooked, I cleaned, I washed their clothes, I kept the garden an image of perfection…"
Harry shook his head sadly, "but it was never enough for them, my efforts always fell short of their expectations, never mind they couldn't hope to achieve that standard themselves. So I had to be punished," Harry then pulled off his robe and threw it on the table before loosening his tie.
"And do you know how they punish freaks that screw up their chores? Or even for being a freak at all?" Harry asked as he loosened his shirt, again the girl shook her head, afraid of what she might hear.
"This," Harry said as he pulled his shirt over his head, "Is how they punished me, for being a Freak."
Thin white lines criss-crossed nearly his entire torso and arms with a nasty concentration of scars over his kidneys and heart. The word freak was carved into his flesh on his upper right arm, left forearm and just below his neck. There were a series of scars that looked like burns on his wrists and forearms and a circular scar the size of a Galleon in the middle of the inner side of his right forearm.
"This was my 'reward' for existing," Harry hissed at the girl, who now had tears in her eyes and was shaking her head in horror and disbelief, Harry ignored the sounds of several people vomiting, screaming or fainting as he stared unblinkingly into the girl's eyes.
"This," he hissed again, "Is how far my relatives went."
He then fixed her with an unwavering glare that left the girl wanting to faint but unable too, "How far are you going to go? Because, I promise that if you do, I will be there to repay EVERY SINGLE ACT in kind."
The girl finally fainted, leaving her friends to a furious and vengeful Potter. "Enough, Mr Potter."
Harry turned around to see all four Heads of House approaching, trying to repair as much damage as they could as they walked, his eyes settling on Professor Flitwick who looked furious, ashamed and embarrassed, feelings shared by Professors McGonagall and Sprout while Snape looked remorseful that he couldn't have done more.
"You are right, I have been blind to these girl's actions and am guilty of not recognising the signs that one of my students were being harassed," the small Professor's voice was hard as was his face, making nearly everyone do a double-take at the usually friendly and excitable Professor, "However, I promise you that will be quickly remedied."
"If I'm not satisfied with their punishment I'm taking this to the DMLE," Harry warned, stepping back as the Professors confiscated the girl's wands and begin shepherding them toward the doors.
"That may happen anyway," Flitwick replied, drawing Harry's curiosity as the Professor's usually had a soft touch when it came to bullying, "If these accusations of yours are accurate with regards to the extremes these girls went to, I can assure they will no longer be in my House, if not the school all together."
He shook his head sadly as Serina collected Harry's robe and draped it over her boyfriend's shoulders hiding the worst of the scars, "How did I miss this? How could I fail my students like this?"
"I don't know," Harry answered honestly, usually Flitwick was as good as Snape at spotting when his students had problems, "but you have a chance to correct this, don't waste it. And you now need to decide how to proceed, they were only a hard core of bullies, many others from your House were involved before."
Flitwick's eyes shot to the other Ravenclaws who all looked ashamed, "This will NOT happen again as long as I am here," he declared, making many of his students flinch away.
"I think it would be best to check on Luna," Harry suggested, "after all, she is the victim."
Flitwick nodded, "Yes, you're right. I presume you will join me to support your friend?"
"Of course," Harry replied, "I was meant to have the day off anyway, so Madame Pomfrey could deal with the worst of…" he trailed off, dropping his head in shame as he gestured to his chest.
"I understand," Flitwick replied gently, sadness almost completely overwhelming him at the revelation of the barbarity inflicted on the son of his all-time favourite student, "Shall we?"
Harry followed Professor Flitwick out of the silent Hall, not noticing the shocked stares or many tears of the female students and even some of the younger boys.
He didn't notice the shocked disbelief of the Slytherins change to deadly glares at Draco Malfoy, he didn't notice the way Remus looked helplessly at him as he passed or his mother on her knees, crying into her hands as his father tried to comfort her.
He didn't notice anything until he settled onto an empty bed in the Hospital Wing.
He stared at a spot on the floor, barely hearing the conversation between Flitwick, Pomfrey and Luna, before looking up and finding Serina sitting next to him holding his hand and silently crying.
He looked into her eyes and saw his own reflected in them, saw his tortured soul staring back but also seeing a tiny glint that he'd never seen before, through the pain, shame and humiliation there was a small but slowly spreading sense of relief.
He was finally free from his most terrible burden, his deepest and darkest secret would be known throughout Magical Britain by Dusk, but at least he could take solace in the fact he no longer had to hide the truth.
Serina let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around him, he felt a wetness soak into his hair as she rested her head on his shoulder and her cheek on the back of his neck.
"Why?" she asked in a strained voice.
"It's human nature to lash out at what we don't understand," Harry replied, sliding an arm around her waist as he rubbed her back gently with the other, "Fear, Ignorance and, in this case, Jealousy compounds the problem."
"How could they do this to their own nephew?"
"Vernon I think was from fear, Petunia was jealous of my mother's abilities and her marrying my father and Dudley doesn't know any better," Harry replied, slightly surprised at how easy it was to talk about this.
"Not even my family is that cruel," Serina stated angrily, sitting back slightly to look in his eyes again.
"I don't know," Harry mused, thinking of some of the things he'd read past generations of Blacks had done, "This would probably be pretty average for a Black, really…"
Serina sighed and the two sat in silence for several moments before Madame Pomfrey came over and asked if he still wanted to go through with the procedure.
"Yes, but it might be best if you gave me a thorough examination first and made detailed records, I've a feeling I'll be talking to the DMLE tomorrow," Harry replied.
Madame Pomfrey agreed and went to fetch the Privacy screens, Harry asked Serina not to wait for him and to explain to Remus what was happening.
Pomfrey returned as Serina left, bringing not only the screens but a hospital gown for Harry. She set the screens and prepared several rolls of parchment for the examination as Harry changed behind the screens.
He lay back on the bed after changing and waited for Pomfrey to begin.
The examination took twenty minutes and five rolls of parchment, detailing every injury and partial or complete treatment.
Then the procedure began, it basically involved removing the top layers of dead skin to directly heal the scar tissue in the healthy flesh underneath, a long process with the pain being relative to the injury being healed.
As Harry prepared himself for one of the most unpleasant experiences of his life, others were reeling from the nightmare they'd just witnessed.
Remus, Lily and James had quietly retreated to Remus' office, where they were joined shortly after by Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape.
"I can't believe it?" Remus mumbled as Severus poured him a shot of Firewhiskey.
"No one knew," Severus said, "It wouldn't have got so far if we had."
"I said they were the worst muggles imaginable," Minerva said tearfully, "I watched them a whole day before and I didn't protest more. I should have stopped it; I should have taken him myself…"
"You couldn't have known," Severus snapped, "You trusted Dumbledore's judgment, as did I, I didn't recognise the signs either when he arrived, all I saw was Potter's brat I didn't even consider for a moment that he was anything but a pampered prince."
He shook his head sadly, ignoring both Lily and James staring at him while Remus and Minerva glared lightly, "I didn't realise it until Pomfrey had me brew a batch of scarring potion shortly after the autumn term began, I couldn't believe she could use up enough to warrant a new batch so soon and I went to investigate, I found her treating Potter's back. But even then what I saw then wasn't the full extent of his injuries."
"I dread to think what he was subjected to every day there," Minerva began.
"Unfortunately, I have some idea," Snape replied, earning a horrified look from Lily, something that didn't go unnoticed.
James was about to say something but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Remus opened the door, showing the pretty, black haired girl who was with Harry in the hall waiting on the other side.
"Professor, could I come in?"
"Of course, Serina," Remus said stepping aside to allow her in.
She walked in and Remus closed the door behind her, "Harry's going to be in the Hospital Wing until at least this evening, he arranged something with Madame Pomfrey to remove most of the scars today," Serina said, her voice faltering slightly as she mentioned the scars.
"Did you know?" Remus asked as Serina sat between him and Minerva.
"I knew he had a few, he admitted as much around Christmas after I saw that word carved into his arm. When he agreed to look into getting them healed, I was so happy, you know how hard it is to make him go to the Hospital Wing for any injury he gets here, I never realised there were so many, when I saw them all…" she broke down crying at the thought of what had happened to Harry, Minerva pulled the crying girl into a hug and let her upset cub cry into her shoulder.
"What does she mean? Can that many scars be cured?" Lily asked hopefully.
"To a degree," Severus replied, "Some of Po… Harry's wounds are magical in nature, the scar on his forehead is infamous in this regard as a souvenir of that Halloween, there's also a scar on his right arm I believe won't be healed completely."
Lily sighed, but James caught something, "What do you mean, souvenir?"
"Harry survived that night with a scar on his forehead shaped like lightning…" Minerva began but was cut off by Serina.
"They labelled him the Boy-Who-Lived, he can't go anywhere without being stared at like a zoo animal, he was accused of attacking muggleborns as the heir of Slytherin when the Chamber of Secrets was opened last year despite one of our best friends being the best muggleborn student in the school, they treated him like dirt because we lost 150 points in one night killing our lead over Slytherin in our First year, and I was labelled a slut in the Daily Prophet when we were caught kissing in Hogsmeade…"
"And how could you two be kissing in Hogsmeade when Harry doesn't have permission to leave the castle?" Remus asked, smiling at his honorary goddaughter, who glared before trying her best innocent look on Minerva, which sadly failed due to the resemblance to her father's own look at that age.
"We are waiting, young lady," Minerva prompted, hiding her smile with well-practiced ease as Serina's eyes widened in horror, before blushing hard and looking away.
"He snuck out using one of the secret passages, he promised to take me to Hogsmeade for our first official date and refused to break his promise," Serina answered.
"Do you know which passage he used?" Minerva asked, she knew better than to ask a Marauder's child their secrets but as a teacher she still had to try.
Remus and James grinned broadly when they heard Serina answer, "Harry didn't tell me which passage he used," the look on her face was nearly identical to her father's when he evaded a question from Minerva.
Minerva sighed and let it go.
"The Prophet was especially cruel because of my father," Serina added.
"How do you mean?" Lily asked.
"There was a headline about how she was seducing him to lead him to Sirius for him to kill," Severus explained, "In fact; she was questioned by the DMLE here in the castle. Harry cursed one of the Aurors pretty badly when they started making unpleasant remarks as they escorted her back to the Hall, the idiot didn't think Harry would hear him or care."
"What happened?" James asked.
"Nothing," Remus said as Severus hid his smirk behind his goblet and Minerva smiled, "Amelia Bones saw the whole thing and was about to step in, instead she gives Harry a mild telling off, Serina a formal apology and simply levitates the idiot out of the Entrance hall while still under the effects of six hexes and curses."
"The following day there was a public apology in the Prophet after several of their friends threatened to sue the paper," Remus finished.
James laughed as Lily shook her head in disbelief.
"So, when did you two start dating?" James asked, prompting Lily to cry "James."
"He asked me to be his girlfriend after I woke up after being petrified last year, but we started dating when school began again," Serina replied.
"Without that horrible prelude of yours, Potter," Severus added.
Minerva and Remus smiled as James and Lily blushed.
"Harry was hoping to meet you before going to the Hospital Wing but then we found Luna," Serina said sadly.
"I guess that'll have to wait until tomorrow," Remus replied.
Harry woke up the next morning with his whole body aching worse than it had in several years, he raised an arm to massage his pounding forehead but stopped halfway there, before suddenly smiling.
The only scar on his right arm was the Galleon sized mark where the Basilisk had bitten him, a quick check of his left arm showed nearly the same except for a single long line where he'd cut his forearm open on a nail after being slammed into the side of one of the tower stands at the Quidditch Pitch by Terrance Higgs in First Year.
He ran his fingers over his skin just to be sure; he found that only the scars from his deepest injuries or the magically imbued ones like his arm were left.
"I see that you're awake," Harry looked up to see Madame Pomfrey approaching, "How are you feeling?"
"Sore," Harry replied, he tried to sit up but winced as the skin over his back and neck suddenly hurt, feeling very tight, "and very stiff."
"This will help loosen your body; I'd also recommend stretching thoroughly before leaving, the soreness should be gone by tonight and you'll be able to move as normal by at least tomorrow," Madame Pomfrey replied, handing him a familiar orange potion after performing a diagnostic charm and seemed satisfied with the results.
Harry drank the potion as Pomfrey left before attempting some small stretches, slowly building up to larger movements that used more muscles until he was touching his toes.
He went to the shower room at the back of the ward to shower after asking one of the school elves to collect a fresh uniform for him, when he came out he found Serina waiting for him.
"How did it go?"
"Pretty good, only the worst remain and they've been severely reduced, you wouldn't guess what caused them if you didn't already know, except for the magical scars of course," Harry replied as he walked over.
"It was in the Evening Prophet last night, there's rumours going around about a lynch mob forming in Diagon before the Minister made a public statement," Serina told Harry, knowing that it was best to tell him the truth straight away, warts and all.
"I'd have never got out of there without the Minister's help," Harry admitted, "Dumbledore tried to convince me to go back, then tried to take me with some of the Order but Fudge arrived within minutes with several Aurors and the documents stating I was never to go back. I had to show Dumbledore my back to finally open his eyes, after that he folded like a house of cards."
He sighed before continuing, "Fudge arranged with Madame Bones to keep the investigation low key, but now they'll be forced to arrest them immediately, and I'll have to face them in court."
"How did Remus take it?" Harry asked, forgetting about his parents.
"He and your parents took it hard," she briefly hesitated as his eyes widened in horror, "In fact, they were sharing a bottle of Firewhiskey with Professors Snape and McGonagall."
She stared into his eyes for a moment, "Minnie looked like she'd been crying."
That stopped Harry dead, the thought of the stern and proper Transfiguration teacher breaking down and crying was something he'd always dismissed as fantasy, he could never conjure a believable image in his mind's eye, to be told he'd actually made her cry…
"Oh Merlin!"
"Don't you dare blame yourself, Harry James Potter. They would have had to be told anyway and I cannot predict their reaction being any better," Serina scolded.
"Sorry, wait? Snape?"
"Yeah, it seems that witnessing the initial treatment and going to him about Luna's bullies opened his eyes," Serina replied, "Surely you've noticed he isn't so biased anymore."
"I hadn't, but now you mention it…"
"I think we should head to breakfast," Serina said, "You won't want an empty stomach to ruin your first family moment."
"I want you to be there," Harry said, his face was neutral but his eyes betrayed his worry, "I don't know if I can meet them on my own after…"
"It's ok, I'll be with you," Serina replied, giving Harry a quick hug before leading him out of the Hospital Wing and down to breakfast.
Everyone stared as the couple entered the Great Hall but quickly went back to their meals or conversations.
The meal itself was uneventful, in fact it was a little too quiet, but that changed when the post owls arrived, along with the Daily Prophet delivery owls.
The headline was split; the page itself was literally split in two. The left side held a photograph of Harry confronting the Ravenclaws, mercifully the loop stopped before he removed his shirt but did capture the extraordinary and destructive accidental magic. The article detailed the confrontation, the revelations over the rampant bullying and bigotry, it then mentioned in disturbing detail what happened next, both Harry's monologue and a reader friendly description of the injuries he revealed and revealed were caused by his previous guardians (with a very unsubtle note to their readers that the true extent of the scars were not something for someone without a very strong stomach to read about.)
The right side had a picture of his parents talking to the Minister, Madame Bones and Madame Marchbanks, that headline stated that the couple had been found unconscious in the ruin of their old home, the article stated that a DMLE Patrol Squad reacted to a large burst of magic at the site and found them in the rubble wearing modified Time-Turners.
It then continued on page 3, stating that they were working to regain custody of Harry, and recover their legal and financial assets.
The divide did not reach the bottom of the page, it stopped four inches short with a horizontal line, beneath was a headline proclaiming Sirius Black's possible innocence due to testimony from Harry's parents.
The rest of the article was entirely speculation and made up of several theories spanning pages 5-9.
The low buzz of conversation returned to the Hall in force, nearly everyone had huddle into groups to talk and were glancing at him and Serina every few minutes.
Professor McGonagall came over and told Harry that his parents were waiting in Professor Lupin's office for him, and would like to see him after breakfast.
Harry and Serina quickly finished and walked out of the Hall, heading for the Third Floor, ignoring the near constant whispers and mutterings of the other students as they passed and the stories from the Prophet spread.
The couple entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and walked over to the stairs up to the Office, Harry stopped just short of the door.
Serina took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "I'm here for you, Harry, it's going to be ok," she said softly.
Harry nodded, not trusting his voice right now, and took the last few steps to the door. He glanced at Serina, who smiled as she stood next to him holding his hand, before raising his hand and knocking.
"Come in," Professor Lupin said.
Harry opened the door and stepped into the room, Serina following just behind him.
