AN: You guys are the best readers anyone could hope for:). Thanks again, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 15- The Interrogation

Kingsley nodded politely to Severus, pointedly ignoring his disheveled appearance. "May I come in?"

Severus deflated and nodded, stepping out of the way to let him inside. The other guests looked curiously up at Shacklebolt who hovered in the living room, looking unsure on where to go. "Minerva, Albus," he greeted, turning to Tuck with a questioning look. "John Tucker," he provided.

"We can speak in the kitchen," Severus bit out, leading Shacklebolt out of the room.

Shacklebolt cast a silencing spell and sat down with Severus at the table. "Why were you absent from work last evening and this morning?" he asked, failing in his attempt to make his question sound like professional interest rather than an interrogation.

"I had… personal matters to attend to," Severus drawled out carefully, looking Shacklebolt straight in the eye who, to his credit, didn't even flinch.

He nodded, "I'm assuming those matters have something to do with your friend who was somehow able to apparate into the auror department yesterday?"

It took a second for Severus to realize who he was talking about. "Yes," he answered coolly, "But I trust you are here for another reason than to interrogate me about my personal life."

Shacklebolt was still suspicious, but he had more important matters to attend to. "We've apprehended the Potter boy. He turned himself in around an hour ago, just appearing in the interrogation room. We have placed him in a more secure room and have started the interrogation. He refuses to speak, we need your expertise."

Severus's heart sank but thankfully years of playing a double agent had taught him how to school his features. "I'll be in right away."

Shacklebolt thanked him and took his leave. It was clear that the others had found a way past the silencing spell because as soon as Severus reentered the room they informed him that he had to go to the Ministry. He had to help Harry.

Severus agreed completely and his mind was already filled with schemes to help him. Best case scenario was to clear Harry's name and gain guardianship over him, without implicating himself. Worst case scenario was Harry got the Dementor's Kiss- an idea so awful that Severus could barely consider it.

He proceeded straight to the ministry and it wasn't long before he found himself staring through the one way mirror at the emerald eyed boy who sat chained to the table as if nothing had happened in the past month. That was, until his eyes impossibly met Severus and filled with crushing relief.

The two other aurors in the observation room gasped when they saw Harry look their way. Severus had never gotten around to investigating how exactly Harry could see through the charmed mirror, but he found that now he couldn't care less how Harry could see him, he was just glad that he could because Severus had a brilliant idea that might just work.

He silently cast a legilimens on Harry and felt the air tremble around him as he slowly entered his mind. The surprised gasps of the surrounding aurors were drowned out by Harry's swirling thoughts.

At first his thoughts were confused and panicked and Severus could feel the start of the wall being thrown up. He paused, waiting to feel Harry's magic quiet before he continued to enter his mind. As soon as Severus could see the recent memory of Harry running away he stopped and opened up his own mind, thinking only one thought repeatedly.

He felt the tendrils of Harry's magic slowly enter his mind, carefully searching until they found what Severus wanted him to find.

Harry, if you ever run away again I will not hesitate to magically attach you to my side so you can no longer move more than a foot away from me, do I make myself clear?

Harry startled at the sound of Severus talking in his mind, an odd sensation and then bit down a smile at the words.

Yes sir.

I am going to do my best to get you out of here but to do that the Ministry must believe that I have an unbiased opinion. When I go into the interrogation room you must act as if you have never seen me before and are frightened of me. In fact if we have any chance to get the charges dropped you need to act terrified of every adult you encounter today. You will have to be very brave.

I can do it, Harry thought back confidently.

Just be careful, Severus thought in a tone filled more with concern than strictness. He pulled out of Harry's mind.

"I'm ready to start the interrogation now," he told the other aurors coldly and swept out of the room without waiting for their agreement. He clutched tightly to the file which held the incriminating evidence that could put Harry away for the rest of his life.

Severus mentally prepared himself for what he must do. He must treat Potter like the violent murderer the Ministry believed he was. He hadn't prepared Harry for this because the fear needed to be real, and seeing fear in his emerald eyes and knowing it was caused by him was going to hurt.

Letting out a deep breath Severus schooled his face into one of cold rage and hatred. He slammed the door open with a loud bang and strode angrily into the room. Harry jumped at the sudden noise, the chains restraining the movement.

Severus glowered at the boy, looking at him in pure disgust. Harry was wide eyed and trembling but Severus couldn't stop there. He slammed his hand down loudly on the interrogation table the bang resonating through the room causing Harry to flinch. Severus felt Harry's magic flare up then quickly drain away and when he got a closer look at his restraints he realized why.

Harry was bonded by what was known as DeMagicked Cuffs. They drained the magic from a wizard as soon as he or she tried to call upon it. This was an extremely painful and draining experience and was usually only used on wizards who had performed the most powerful of dark magic. It had, in fact, been banned for use on minors with the exception of any wizard who was considered a terrorist.

Harry Potter, the destroyer of Lord Voldemort, a terrorist. Severus watched in barely disguised horror as Harry started to panic. The pain only caused him to release more magic, which continued the vicious cycle. If Harry didn't stop soon he could drain his magic entirely, maybe even permanently.

"Harry Potter," Severus sneered, silently begging the boy to make eye contact with him. "Clearly since you turned yourself in you know why you're here. We don't need any more evidence to convict you; we just need to know why now."

Severus violently tore open the file and grabbed the stack of eight pictures, one for each victim. He slammed them down, one by one, in front of Harry forcing him to face the bloodied and mangled bodies of his victims.

Tears fell silently down Harry's face as he feebly struggled against the chains while staring in horror at the pictures. Unlike all other magic pictures, these didn't move because each of the bodies were dead. Severus could feel the pictures escalating the rapid flow of power out of Harry. He was fading fast.

"You can stop trying to attack me like you did them, Potter. Clearly your undersized brain hasn't caught on to the fact that your restraints disable your magic."

Harry stopped struggling instantly, looking up helplessly at Severus who forced himself to harden his features. "Now tell me why you killed eight people."

Harry's lip quivered but he seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

"Alright then I'll tell you why I think you killed them. Because you're a freak, a bloody fucking freak who cares about no one except himself. You think just because you killed the Dark Lord you can do whatever you want. Well here's a reality check, Potter, the whole world hates you. Both Muggles and Wizards see you for what you truly are- a monster. Do you even know what their names are, Potter? They had families; what are you going to tell the wives that are left husband less or the children who lost their parents?"

Severus was shouting by now, his dark eyes blazing with flames. "What should I say to them?" he roared again, bringing both hands down so violently that the metal table shook. His face was brought within inches of Harry, who had completely shut down. He stared up at him in terror, but he didn't see Severus. Instead he saw his Uncle Vernon and his stomach twisted violently as he thought of the beating he was about to receive.

"I guess you have nothing to say," Severus said in a low, dark whisper that was infinitely more terrifying than his yelling. He removed his hands from the table, a false calm overtaking him. He sat quietly across from Harry, his eyes studiously running over him, calculating what it would take to crack him.

"It seems that you leave me no choice," Severus said in that same deadly whisper. Harry's eyes were tortured as he met Severus's. "Legilimens," he said loud enough to alert the people in the other room.

Severus was not expecting the state of Harry's mind as he entered. He was not anticipating Harry's magic to be so weakened that he wasn't met with any wall. It happened so fast that Severus couldn't back track, he slid right into Harry's current thoughts and was surrounded instantly by the darkness.

Severus was surrounded by black. The only sound was his ragged breathing and pounding heart as he sat in silence, waiting. If he couldn't feel the walls closing in around him and see the tiny flick of light filtering in through cracks in the door Severus would have thought he was nowhere at all.

His eyes could barely make out the tiny form sleeping fitfully in front of him. The boy, who couldn't be older than 5, was tossing and turning in his sleep. Severus could almost feel his distress and watched as he bit his lip to keep from crying out, an unconscious act in his sleep that spoke volumes to Severus. Harry hadn't even been allowed to cry.

All of Severus was screaming at him to help Harry, to comfort the poor tortured boy but he knew it would be futile. This was only a memory; Harry's fate was already sealed. He was going to stay in this nightmare, for years more, and there was nothing Severus could do. This made it infinitely more difficult to watch Harry, but Severus found he couldn't pull his eyes away.

After what felt like an eternity Severus heard loud footsteps on the stairs and a sharp rap on Harry's door. "Up, up," screeched a familiar voice and the footsteps receded to the kitchen.

Harry awoke with a start, hastily wiping the tears from his eyes as he took in the cupboard with desolate despair that made Severus's heart clench painfully in his chest. Harry pushed open the tiny door, squinting in the sudden morning light.

Harry stumbled over the hem of his ratty PJs that dwarfed his starved body. Severus followed him to the kitchen where Petunia stood waiting. Harry flinched when he saw the frying pan in her hand and held out trembling hands for it. Petunia hardly looked down as she dropped the pan heavily into Harry's awaiting hands. "I expect breakfast to be ready in ten minutes," she addressed the air, refusing to even acknowledge Harry's existence.

"Yes ma'am," Harry mumbled. Petunia suddenly slapped him so hard that Harry jumped back startled, dropping the frying pan with a resounding crash onto the tiled floor. Hot grease spilled everywhere.

"Now look what you did, you freak!" Aunt Petunia yelled, grabbing hold of Harry and shaking him violently. "What did I say about mumbling? Sounding like those alcoholic wrecks your parents were. Clean up this mess, cook breakfast and then go back to your closet. You've lost your meal privileges for today."

She gave Harry a disgusted look and walked by him, waiting until he dropped to the floor to start mopping up the oil and purposefully stepping on his right hand. Severus heard it crunch sickeningly under her weight. Harry bit his tongue so hard it drew blood but didn't cry out. He screwed his eyes shut and pushed back tears that fell regardless.

Petunia walked to the sink and slowly, with a grotesque smirk twisting up her long face, started to wash her hands. She deliberately scrubbed her hands vigorously; Severus supposed she was "washing the freak off her hands." Harry shakily stood, using his left hand because his dominant hand was already swelling.

Harry worked as fast as he could, scrubbing the ground and frying eggs and bacon on the sizzling pan but he could only work so fast, especially with only one hand. When Uncle Vernon stomped down the stairs for breakfast Harry wasn't finished.

He didn't even bother to ask why Harry was late; he just marched heavily into the kitchen. Harry cringed but didn't turn his back as Vernon approached him, his face boiling with anger. He cuffed a sharp blow to Harry's ear, hard enough to knock Harry off balance. Harry reached out to catch himself, mistakenly grabbing on to the counter with his right hand.

With a muffled shout Harry collapsed to the floor, cradling his broken hand. Uncle Vernon didn't hesitate- he started to kick Harry violently, aiming for his exposed stomach and chest. "Get your ass up, boy!" Uncle Vernon roared, ceasing his attack long enough for Harry to stumble back to his feet.

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, choking back sobs and trying to keep his voice steady. "It'll be ready in a minute."

"It better be," Uncle Dursley said darkly and he walked back to the table muttering "freak" and "good for nothing" under his breath.

Harry managed to avoid being hit again all through breakfast while he was forced to stand in the corner of the room and watch his Aunt and Uncle eat, being ready to clear their plates when they were done. Dudley clambered into the kitchen and Severus could immediately tell that even though he was around the age of 6 he was just as cruel as his parents.

He laughed uncontrollably when he saw Harry in the corner, especially when he caught sign of his hand that had swelled to the size of a small balloon. "Does the little freak have a booboo?" he sang.

Harry's teeth clenched, but he stayed silent as Dudley taunted him. Then, once Dudley had eaten all he possibly could, he chucked his plate across the room at Harry. Harry barely had time to duck before the plate shattered, raining glass shards and bits of half- eaten breakfast down on him.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't bat an eye. "Clean it up," they barked at their invisible nephew and they got on with their day. It was if Harry wasn't even human in their eyes.

Severus felt sick; he'd had more than enough of Harry's memories. He pulled out and stood there gasping for breath, not having to force the look of horrified surprise on his face. Harry had his eyes squeezed shut and his breathing was rapid yet shallow. Severus could tell when he had left the memory it had stayed in Harry's mind- he was still reliving it.

Severus reached out a hand to draw Harry back. He remembered where he was and quickly pulled his hand back, his eyes blurring with tears as he watched Harry's face twist in the memory of the impossible horrors he had faced. It was a long moment before Severus had regained enough composure to pull himself away. Until then he kept his face pointedly turned from the interrogation room, he couldn't let them see him like this.

Finally Severus took a deep breath and walked out of the interrogation room. The simple act of walking out of that room must have been the hardest thing Severus had ever done, especially because Harry had started to whimper- terror and despair held in every note.

Severus bit his tongue so hard the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He stepped quietly into the observation room, meeting the curious faces with a practiced hardened look. Madame Bones approached him instantly, her voice filled with uncharacteristic concern, "What did you see?"

The question echoed through Severus's mind. What had he just seen? Certainly not anything he ever wanted to see again, not anything anyone deserved to see much less live through. Severus didn't respond. He slumped into one of the wooden chairs set up for watching.

What had he just seen? Severus noted bleakly that his legs were trembling so violently that the chair was shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut so he didn't have to see them anymore, but more importantly he didn't have to see the boy caught in a living nightmare in the other room. The boy who was left completely alone.

The room had gone silent; everyone had similar expressions of shock as they watched the ruthless and unflappable auror who had never so much as flinched at a crime scene crumble before them. "Severus?" Madame Bones prompted gently.

Severus shook himself from his thoughts, turning his head to face the room of awestruck aurors. "He can't be held accountable for his actions."

The room erupted at his statement, many with angry outbursts pointing out that he was a murderer. He had killed five of their own. Madame Bones seemed to be the only one unaffected by the statement, she just watched Severus with a guarded look. When the aurors refused to quiet down she cast a silent silencing spell.

The looks on the auror's faces when they realized what had happened was priceless but Severus couldn't enjoy it. The images of Harry's "family" were still flashing through his head. It felt as if a dementor had sucked all the joy from Severus, he felt cold and distant and…

"Why can't he be held accountable for his actions?"

Severus once again startled, staring at Madame Bones as if he had forgotten she was there. "He was afraid."

Bones sighed, growing frustrated with his one sentence answers. Most of the time she couldn't get Severus to shut up when he reported back to her, using all these fancy phrases. Right now he almost was acting like he was in shock. "Of what? Who? Look Severus you need to give me more than that if you truly think he isn't responsible. The whole wizarding world wants him in Azkaban; some are even calling for the Dementor's Kiss."

A switch seemed to flip in Severus at the phrase "Dementor's Kiss." He stood up suddenly, the dark fire dancing dangerously in his eyes as he addressed Madame Bones. "First of all, the boy is ten, was raised by Muggles, and has no wand. Any magic he was able to perform, therefor, was clearly accidental magic, a thing that all magical children perform regardless or not if they defeated Lord Voldemort as a baby. The only difference is the severity of the magic, which I'm assuming if you run the appropriate tests you will find that he has power that could easily cause such a powerful blast."

"But what is of more importance is what I found in his head- memories from his life with his Muggle relatives. Just one memory tells me that he was severely abused and neglected, both physically and mentally. He feared for his life with the Dursleys, and that day his magic flared up to protect him. When we brought him in he was already on an adrenaline high, already terrified and when he felt someone entering his mind it scared him. He knew nothing of magic, so when he felt something taking over his thoughts he panicked. He is nothing more than a child who acted out of fear, and if the Ministry has started punishing minors for accidental magic then you might as well accept my registration because that is sickening."

Severus finished with a defiant glare, a look that dared Madame Bones to argue with him. Sadly, Madame Bones seemed rather unaffected by Severus's rant (having heard it all too many before). Instead she just seemed thoughtful. "There is no need for you to quit, Severus," she told him sounding a little exasperated. "But I do want to see this memory."

Severus froze up, "I don't think you do."

Madame Bones narrowed her eyes at him, "For evidence purposes, Severus, I need to view that memory. You know that."

Severus reluctantly complied, taking the small glass bottle Madame Bones had conjured up for him. He recalled the memory, shuddering from the sheer hatred in Vernon's and Petunia's eyes. He tapped his wand against his forehead, pulling away the threads of the memory. The silver tendrils twisted and wrapped around each other. Severus placed them in the bottle, looking at Madame Bones with darkened eyes as he handed the memory to her, "I don't need to see it again."

She nodded. "You can go."

Severus didn't hesitate. The door shut behind him just as the silencing spell was canceled and the room was filled with voices once again.

Severus knew the risks. But he also knew he could no longer stay away, he would never be able to live with himself if he did. His mind made up, he strode purposefully into the room next door, not a hint of hesitation in his step.

He rushed to Harry, who was still caught in the unending nightmare. His hand closed around his shoulder, his heart hammering loudly as he felt how weak the magic was that swirled up to meet him. It collected right below his hand; Severus could feel the air vibrate gently, light enough that the restraints didn't pull it away.

It was a while before Harry started to relax, his whimpers quieting, his face slowly untwisting until it was calm. Severus felt Harry's power recede back into him and Harry looked noticeably less pale. He still looked as if he had just come out of a war zone.

Severus squeezed his shoulder gently and Harry's eyes slowly fluttered open. They flittered across the room, looking dazed and confused before they focused on Snape. Harry briefly tried to reach up and hug him. The restraints held him back and his memories came flooding back to him.

Harry felt the tears rising in him and he quickly lowered his eyes. He felt a hand softly push his head back up, forcing him to look into the deep brown eyes of his guardian. They seemed to hold a question- may I? Harry nodded bleakly, too tired to resist.

Severus gently entered his mind, creeping forward so slowly that no memories were jarred free. I'm so sorry, he whispered into Harry's mind, watching as in real life Harry slowly crumpled before him. You're going to be okay. They'll never hurt you again, no one will ever hurt you again.

You promise? Harry asked, his emerald eyes wide with hope and unshed tears.

I promise.

Severus let go of Harry's chin as the tears started to fall. Once Harry started it seemed he couldn't stop, his sobs racking his tiny frame as Severus kept his hand on his shoulder, the pressure anchoring him to reality.

Harry wanted to hug Severus, wanted the reassuring weight of Severus's arms and the softness of his cloak, but right now he knew that couldn't happen. Right now he had to hold on to the gentle hand on his shoulder; that had to be enough. And it was. Because now Harry knew for certain- he wasn't alone. Severus was never going to leave him alone. He was safe.

The ashen faces in the siding room lightened a little as they saw the unlikely exchange. None of them understood, but their eyes told them enough. Somehow, for reasons they couldn't comprehend, Harry trusted Severus. And right now they were holding each other together. Which was more than could be said for the aurors who had just watched the memory in the pensieve.

Several of them hadn't been able to watch the whole thing and had pulled away and a few of them had even gotten sick after watching the disturbing abuse. All of them were deeply affected by it. One thought now filled their minds, as much as they had all agreed that Harry should be punished before they now all agreed that he must be set free. Now all they had to do was convince the rest of the wizarding world.