Chapter Twenty-two: Returning to the Scene of the Crime
Harry jerked abruptly out his nightmare, eyes opening to find himself lying in his bed at Castle Potter staring blindly up at the ceiling. Breathing, just breathing is what he did until his racing heart calmed. Once that occurred, he closed his eyes and meditated until he pushed the nightmare back and sat up. Sensei stood at the foot of his bed wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and holding a water bottle out towards him. Harry snatched the bottle and gulped down the cold water gratefully.
"Thanks. I'll be ready in a moment; I just need to shake this off."
"Missing one day won't kill you."
Shocked, Harry froze, then took in Sensei's casual appearance and snorted. "You're using my nightmare as an excuse aren't you? You don't feel like trying to kill me today, huh? Why else would you still be in your pajamas? Aren't you breaking some ancient Morinozuka code to still be undressed after the roosters crow?" Harry smirked. "You had fun last night didn't you? It's not like I didn't hear Kingsley floo in."
Several throw pillows bashed him upside the head hard before Sensei settled comfortably atop his bed, curling his legs under him.
"Brat, stop trying to deflect. Tell me."
"It's no big deal, I'm fine now." Sensei's eyes bored into him until Harry sighed and gave in. "Dumbledore. He had me under the Imperius Curse. No matter what I did, I couldn't fight it. He had me doing awful things. I would string people along, like manipulating Sirius feelings for me so Dumbledore could control him. I turned my back on people at Hogwarts who are now my friends, ignoring their warnings and calling them evil for not going down the path Dumbledore wanted them to go. I would be constantly fight impossible fights, barely surviving. I would run, try to run away from him, only to be caught and thrown into my bedroom at the Dursley's and be locked inside with magic dampening spells, which made it easier for the Dursleys to attack me. That was worse than being controlled and I broke. It got to the point Dumbledore stopped having to put me under the curse as I just did what he wanted anyway."
Sensei pulled him in his arms and just held him. Harry didn't protest, though he had to keep reminding himself that it was just a dream, but the awful thing about nightmares was they sometimes had an inkling of truth.
"Has this been going on since the hearing?"
"Yeah." Harry shuddered. "I kept asking him why? Why me? I always wake up before he answers."
Sensei sighed. "First off, the Imperius Curse is easy to fight, it just takes will power and determination and with your meditation, you are already there, you just need practice. I'll help. If you know that you could fight the curse in reality, it should help in your dream."
"I guess."
"I know. The Dursley's are unsettling you because of the trail coming up, so once you see them pay—"
"Dumbledore hasn't," Harry muttered.
"The Dursley's will," Sensei said firmly. "And stop worrying about that old man. He is not an all-powerful being, I am." Harry snorted into Sensei's chest and Ikeda tickled Harry's side before continuing. "Stop mocking me, especially when you know it's true. You've seen his core, he is a somewhat above average wizard who has manage to manipulate England into believing he has more power than he has at his disposal. Dumbledore has no power over you, Harry, you are stronger than he is and you're gaining more knowledge than he has. Besides, don't know you that I'd kill him before I'd ever allow him to manipulate you again? So I order you to stop having nightmares about that old, skinny bearded man, when you should be have frankly disturbing dreams about my little nephew instead?" Surprised, Harry barked out a laugh, but that didn't stop Sensei. "I think it's insulting, that you're having these nightmares. You know it would be nothing for me to slip into Hogwarts and slit his throat."
"You're insane. Who are you and what have you done with Ikeda Morinozuka. This is just weird. Kingsley did something freaky to you last night didn't he? He scrambled your marbles or something? Does good sex really make you this loopy after several hours?"
Of course, he got another hit to the back of the head. He and the Sensei who was not Sensei spent the rest of what would've been their training time, thinking of creative ways of murdering Dumbledore without being caught and thrown into Azkaban.
Harry felt like himself, better than himself actually, after his morning with Sensei, which was probably the point. His good mood lasted through his classes, and continued when he and Sensei floo'd to Potter Corporation for their quarterly meeting with the senior staff. Once Cassandra called the meeting to order, a tall, portly gentleman with a low magical core that reminded Harry of Chad's son Rich stood and went to projection stand where he bowed at Harry.
"Lord Potter, I am Cian Gorman, Vice President of Production for the Potter Corporation." Harry nodded. "We are in the process of searching for qualified personal to head the new Games division. Until we do, I am the leader of this project. We are having a hard time finding qualified personnel who have the right mixture of magical and non-magical credentials to head the division." Harry suspected as much and wondered if he could talk Remus into leaving Hogwarts. "Once we find the appropriate manager, that person will report to myself. Despite that minor setback, we're moving along and have made strides to customize many non-technology related games for magical use. The foreman of this project, Arthur Weasley, is making great strides. He has a team of four recently graduated students working for him."
Harry watched impressed at the slides and examples he was shown of what Mr. Weasley had been able to come up with in such a short amount of time. There were several magical versions of popular board games, as well as a magical version of what reminded Harry of Little Pet Shops and My Little Pony, but instead they were families of unicorns and other creatures that supposedly lived inside the Forbidden Forest. The cuddly, magical creatures came with magical homes, forest areas, food, and games that were very realistic as the creatures moved and ate. For the boys, there were action figures similar to the Transformers and Power Rangers, much to Harry's delight. The action figures had whole worlds created around them, backstories, and awesome powers specific to each character. These heroes fought as a team against evil wizards using realistic spells and other cool tactics. Mr. Gorman informed Harry that the toys were in production and would be ready for the public around Easter.
The technology related items, such as games, as well as phones, and computers were still in research and development. They expected to have something to show to him soon. The head of the Marketing and Sales Department showed how they were planning to market, stock, and produce the items, which included a splashy new toy store in Diagon Alley that would open before Easter break at Hogwarts. The new symbol for this branch of Potter Corporation was a stylized lightening bolt, which he thought was tacky to the extreme. He wanted it changed, but backed down when Caitlin Andrewartha, his marketing guru mentioned the benefits and the increased profit margin of linking his name to the lightning bolt. She had already licensed the new brand, so no other products could be attributed to him without that symbol. At least there was some benefit to that.
The Vice President of Finance spoke of costs and the expansion of headquarters to handle the new departments and employees that were under way and would be complete by May and how they were managing to pay for this expansion. Harry was shown design plans and was really stoked about that because his office covered the top floor of the new building and it looked spectacular. Then, the Vice President of Human Resources spoke of the recruitment drive she was conducting around the globe, as they were severely understaffed and most of the wizards in Britain weren't qualified for these new positions. Despite this, she mentioned that her team was working with Professor McGonagall to set up a career fair at Hogwarts for sixth and seventh year students to fill some of the lower end positions within the organization, including interns. He learned that Percy Weasley had been hired as an assistant in the Legal Department, as he had been accepted into Merlin Wizarding University. Although he would be working for all the solicitors, his boss would be Naoko.
All in all, Harry was very impressed, and told everyone so when they stood to leave, but his day wasn't over, as he still had to meet with Cassandra and his legal team. So, once everyone left with the exception of Cassandra, Naoko who headed his Asian Legal Division, Riley Issacs, who headed the European Legal Division, and Aresenio Floros, who was the General Manager under Cassandra and oversaw legal.
"This is what we know," Mr. Floros began in a no nonsense manner, Harry appreciated. "We are correct in the fact Albus Dumbledore bribed the jury, but as you know he paid a high price as it took all his favors and positions to remain unscathed. The only position, he now retains is the Headmaster of Hogwarts. But, I believe our Assistant, Security Chief is working on a plan to neutralize Mr. Dumbledore if he escalates his plans against Lord Potter?"
"Yes." Sensei stood and passed around a file to everyone in the room. "Most of my plans are classified as you know my primary purpose is to protect Lord Potter above the corporation goals, but this is what I've unearthed so far."
Harry scanned through the dossier on Dumbledore shocked at how many secrets he'd been able to discover in such a short time, especially when he saw the information about, Dumbledore's father, sister, and Grindlewald. Harry wondered if the other Mr. Dumbledore assisted him in unearthing the information. He now had information that would ruin Dumbledore if he so choose to do so. Harry let out an audible sigh of relief.
"Thanks Sensei."
Sensei nodded and sat down.
"How should I handle the guardianship question?" Harry asked changing the subject.
"To quell all further attempts to ursurp your guardianship, we will have to reveal your status as a ward of the crown during the hearing." Riley told him. "The hearing is a nuisance, and identifying your status will stop Dumbledore in his tracks as the last thing he wants is to upset the crown and have the Queen revoke the charter giving the British magical world the right to govern itself."
Harry nodded, he hadn't expected to be able to keep his secret much longer.
"Harry," Naoko said gently. "You're presence is requested at the Dursley trial next week. You'll have to testify. You and I will need to meet with the Crown Prosecutor to go over your testimony."
Harry nodded his hands gripping his chair handles but relaxed when he felt Sensei grab his hand and squeeze it.
"Is anything being done to stop them from sprouting off about the magical world?" Harry asked when he was able to calm himself.
"There is a standard spell that takes affect when anyone non-magical learns about magic as a result of a family member," Riley informed him. "They are literally unable to speak of it to anyone not in the know. This spell has been in place since the time of the Statue of Secrecy and is impossible to circumvent, so you secret is safe."
"At least in that respect," Harry said drily.
Riley coughed uncomfortably.
Returning to the scene of the crime, Harry stood on the sidewalk and stared at the property. The house, always immaculate, now looked desolate. The only movement was the estate agents sign swinging in the wind. As he stood there, Harry imagined what it was like the night, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hagrid dumped him on the doorstep like a used bottle of milk.
Battling down the feeling of betrayal, he stepped inside the empty home, going through all the rooms, especially the cupboard under the stairs. Upstairs, he saw someone had replaced the door to his bedroom. The cat flap was gone as were the numerous locks outside the door. He now understood more than ever, why Sirius had wanted to raze Grimmauld Place to the ground. Maybe he should've let him.
Leaving the property, he toured the neighborhood, walked the streets, the parks, and his old primary school. Everyone he passed recognized him, of course. Yet, no one had the balls to look him in the eye or speak. As always, they looked right through him. The neighborhood's eyes had always held contempt for the deranged, delinquent, Harry Potter; now, the neighbors' looked guilty and shamed. Harry felt a little petty for finally being vindicated and thought the neighbors deserved every moment of condemnation and shame the press doled out to them, for ignoring the obvious signs of abuse and neglect. Harry had learned from Naoko that the majority of the teachers at his old primary school had either been fired, or transferred out.
He didn't feel sorry. He felt relieved it was nearly over and he would never have to come to this neighborhood again. But mainly, he just felt numb.
Numb as he set with Naoko and the Crown Prosecutor and went over his testimony. Especially numb as he set through the Dursley's trial and listened to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia condemn him as a freak that had been dropped off at their doorstep at the middle of the night. Numb, as they spoke of the other freaks who had forced him upon them, such decent, hardworking, normal folks. Numb, as the prosecutor gave the judge the evidence from his medical reports with Dr. Cresswell, the police reports the Detective Inspector made regarding his living conditions inside 4 Privet Drive. Photos of the cupboard under the stairs, and the door with the cat flap and locks where rations not fit for an animal had been slid inside for him. Photos of him wearing Dudley's cast off, and the reports of bullying behavior, the neighborhood had finally spoken out against that was perpetrated against him by Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley. Harry felt numb, as he listened to sobbing neighbors describe the weird Potter boy, the neglect, slaps, abuse they witnessed and how instead of using their eyes, they believed every lie the Dursley's had shoved down their throat at them. Numb, as he sat on the witness stand and spoke of everything he remembered about life with the Dursleys. Numb as he spoke of the despair, the poor clothes, the hunger, the neglect, the emotional abuse. Numb, as he the judge came back and sentenced Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon to jail. Just numb.
After they left the government building, Sensei took his hand and side apparated them to a snowdome where they spent the rest of the day on their snowboards. At least in the snow, he had a reason for his numbness and he began to relish it. It was nice not to feel, to be so blank. And he began to relish the feeling of numbness surrounding him.
Days past, who knew how long, but life went on. He got up, trained, went to his tutoring sessions, did everything he was supposed to do. It was okay. He was fine. Better than fine. The nightmares had even stopped.
Then, another Hogsmeade weekend was announced, Harry wasn't going to go, but Sensei told him to go, so he did. Why should he argue? It was easier to just do as he were told. He arrived early and not wanting to be mixed up in the bustling crowds until he had too, he sat in the park and waited for his friends.
He waited and waited and just when he had decided that he'd ignore Sensei's edict and return to the castle he felt a blur headed in his direction and a girl with straggly blond hair knocked into him causing him to fall onto the cold, hard pavement. The girl jumped on top of him and slapped him repeatedly in the face.
"Luna, what the hell," he heard Ron shout.
Harry blinked. It was Luna, Luna was hitting him. Why? Wasn't she his friend? Did he even have friends?
Harry sat under Luna as she whaled into him. He absorbed her assault doing nothing, waiting for someone to come and pull her off him, but no one came. No one did anything. Not his guards who had been oath bound to protect him, not his friends. They just let her attack him. It was unfair. Why was everything surrounding him so unfair? Everyone lied to him. Everyone said they would do something, but when it came down to it, no one cared. No one would step up and save him. He was alone.
Tears poured down his face as he sobbed. The moment he did, Luna stopped her attack and wrapped her arms about him tightly as she cried as well. They sat on the ground their arms wrapped around each other as they sobbed uncontrollably.
"Do you feel anything now," she whispered in his ear.
"It hurts to feel."
"Yeah, but it's better than feeling nothing, right?"
"I feel like if I feel any more I'll crack," he whispered back.
"So crack. I decided long ago sanity is overrated."
And what the hell was he supposed to say to that? All he could was laugh as he hugged his most sane, insane friend. They spent several moments rolling around the ground laughing and tickling each other and Harry felt the stress of the last couple weeks disappear. Feeling more himself, Harry kissed Luna's forehead, before helping them both to their feet.
"I love you Luna love. I so wish I wasn't gay."
Luna snorted. "Harry heart, what makes you think you could handle me."
Giggling, they threw their arms around each other's shoulders and turned to face their incredulous friends. It turns out that his guards had stopped them from pulling Luna off him.
"You two are both barking," Ron snapped.
In response, Luna climbed up on Harry's back and made clicking sounds under her breath, as if she were leading a horse around by its reigns. And he finally, got Luna. She was right, sanity, Harry decided, was over rated. Normalcy was overrated. There was just life and it was meant to be lived. So, he decided to just live his life with his closest friends by his side.
He galloped over to his friends, with Luna still on his back.
"I'm starving, you guys haven't went to the Three Broomsticks without me, have you?"
"I hate to say this," Hermione said, "but I agree with Ron. Why are we friends?"
"Insanity attracts insanity," Harry told her making Luna giggle.
Hermione huffed while everyone laughed and made their way to the pub, as they let him in on what had been going on up at the castle since they last spoke.
Thanks to Luna, which he was forever grateful, Harry snapped out of whatever sort of depression episode he'd been under since the Dumbledore's hearing at the Wizengamot. The unfortunate thing lasting effect of the Dursley trial though was it leaked out that he, Lord Harrison James Potter was the same unnamed boy from Surrey who had been abused by his relatives. It caused a national stir, and Harry was becoming a sensation in the muggle world as well as in the magical one, to his annoyance. He had no choice but to give another interview. He contacted Jessica Abrams and had her conduct another exclusive with him. This time they conducted the interview in the media room at Castle Potter, as it was the least magical room in his apartments.
When she entered she gave him an affectionate hug.
"How do you want the interview to go, what outcome would you like from it? It would help me decide what angle to go for." She asked as she set out her equipment on the table in front of them.
"Well ideally, I'd wish everyone would mind their own business and leave me alone." Ms. Abrams snorted and Harry grinned. "Well, barring that, I hope everyone realize I'm not some icon. I'm just me and I'm trying to go through my life the best way I can."
"Then we'll let them see you as an ordinary boy who extraordinary things unfortunately keep happening to."
Harry nodded. Jessica grabbed her camera and took several shots of him and the media room as she asked him about some of his favorite movies and games from his extensive media collection. Once she finished taking the pictures, they sat down one of the sofas as she got out her recording equipment.
"Lord Potter, as you are no doubt aware, there has been speculation lately in the media regarding your personal history. Is it true that you are the unnamed young man who was abused by his relatives in Surrey?"
"Yes."
"Since there is so much speculation, about your life, I would like to hear about your life story, your personal struggles, in your own words. Would you mind telling me about yourself and what you may or may not have endured growing up?"
"Well, I'm just me," he told her nervously. "My name is Harrison Potter, the eleventh Earl of Welburn. My parents were James Potter, and Lily Potter, nee Evans. My parents met in boarding school and married soon after they graduated. Shortly before I was born, my family gained the attention of a terrorist. When I was a year old, my family was attacked at one of our minor properties, where we had been hiding. I was the only survivor. In the confusion of the aftermath of the attack and the fear of reprisals from members of that terrorist's cell, I was hidden away at the Dursleys, of whom Mrs. Petunia Dursley is my mother's sister.
Unfortunately, the sisters had not been on speaking terms for several years. From my understanding, this breach stemmed from my aunts jealously over my mother's looks, intelligence, skills, and education. This resentment transferred to me when I was placed with her and her family. It was not a pleasant childhood, as you can imagine, especially as my Aunt and Uncle are now in jail for some of the actions they perpetrated against me. I'd prefer not to discuss what happened there.
Life got a little better, when I turned eleven, a representative from my parents' alma mater found me and offered me a place at their school. I learned that my parents had paid and locked in the school fees shortly after my birth, so the Dursley family had no choice but to allow me to attend. They did however spread lies among the neighborhood that instead of attending an elite boarding school, I was attending a reform school instead. While at school, I began to learn of my parents, as my Aunt and Uncle had refused to tell me anything about my family, even their names. But it was only a couple months ago that I learned of the extent of my title and properties."
"Did your aunt know the extent of your inheritance?"
"No. As I said, my mother and aunt weren't really on good speaking terms by the time of my parents' marriage. I don't believe my mother knew the extent until right before the wedding. From accounts of friends of my parents I have met, my mother just thought my father was an arrogant git who she had to constantly knock sense into." Here Jessica laughed. "From what I have discovered by reading family journals, my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather really had no part in society and focused on their interests, which was service and business. Though I have read that between my parents, my mother focused on the business, while my father preferred to focus on his government service."
"How did you finally learn of your inheritance?"
"Things had become too much with the Dursleys and I ran away. I needed money from what I had presumed was my inheritance, but the money I had access to was actually just a small trust set aside to purchase my school things every year. I learned this, because instead of making a withdraw, like I had normally done the previous two times I accessed the account, I asked questions about my account that aroused suspicions in the teller. That teller, who is now my account manager, was appalled by my ignorance and what was being kept from me and everything snowballed from there."
"I'm sorry, I just want to make sure I understand. Are you saying certain individuals were actively keeping you away from your inheritance, were they attempting to steal it?"
"Yes. Not money per se but valuable family artifacts that date back to the Middle Ages. Fortunately, there were safeguards in place that prevented the attempted thefts."
"What government agencies were involved?"
"I can't say, but it was more a certain individual within a certain agency than the agency itself. Once it was known what was going on, other leaders inside that agency were instrumental in helping me."
"What about the terrorists, have they been dealt with?"
"Some of their associates are in prison, but the leader is still at large."
"Since you are no longer with the Durselys, who are you living with? Who has guardianship over you?"
Harry hesitated and figured what the heck, maybe it would get him out of the meeting with Wizarding Child Services. "I am a royal ward." Ms. Abrams gasped. "It is to protect me from the nefarious individuals attempting to control me. Individuals with Potter Corporation work with myself and the Queen's office to organize my safety, health, hospitality, and education."
"And what does that entail? I believe you left your school? What are you doing now?"
"I have private tutors and I must say they are much more intense than what I had been learning in school. My learning is more individualized. I'm on a quarterly rotation and have classes every day from eight to five."
"What do you do for fun?"
"I've been learning to snowboard and spent the holiday in Switzerland. I've also been getting interested in movies, television, music, rock, classical through mainly piano, and some pop, but not the teeny bopper stuff, pop with an edge to it."
"Are you happy?"
Harry smiled and it was a real smile and he was glad that he could. Glad that he was free. "More than I ever have been. I discovered my family, my heritage, my place in the world. I still struggle with my past, who wouldn't. But, I finally have a place and people who care about me as a person instead of just a tool. I'm free to live my life."
Author's Note:
*I know, I know. Day late and a dollar short. Real life has been kicking my butt, and these little goblins in my life have like Luna decided that sanity is overrated, but instead of testing theirs, they're testing mine and made me realize that the only way to keep my sanity is to go along with the insanity around me. LOL!
*As always all mistakes are my own and I don't own Harry Potter or Ouran High School Host Club.
*Have a great week.