Disclaimer: I don't own this.
Dedicated to The Ruby Red Raven who asked a good question!
Chapter 9: Dumbledore and Dementors.
The Order of the Phoenix gathered in Number 12 grumbling quietly about the late hour and exchanging worried glances. The witches and wizards found seats around the table and whispered thanks to Molly Weasley when she presented a tray of tea and biscuits. Dumbledore arrived shortly after that and quickly set up privacy and silencing wards.
"Let the meeting begin. First of all I'd like reports, Kingsley?" Dumbledore turned to the man on his left before taking his seat.
"I am sorry Albus, I have nothing to report."
"But it's been three weeks! Harry can't have just disappeared! What is the ministry doing!?"
"Hush Molly," Arthur interrupted.
"I am sorry. The ministry is still sending out search teams. He didn't use wizarding transport, and he didn't take muggle public transport either. We have notices all over the muggle news and our own. We are trying! We just aren't finding him." The Auror sat abruptly refusing to comment further."
"Fletcher?" Albus questioned.
"Word on the street is people are scared. Our savior is missing, kidnapped; they are frightened that the war will never end. There is a huge price on his head in the Underground, wizard-side for the kid: 30,000 galleons. What's more remarkable though is that the Lords have stayed out of it all together."
"The Lords," Tonks asked scornfully, "who are they?"
"Yes the Lords. They are the crime Lords. Rulers of the Underworld. They control the black market and most any other illegal enterprise out there. I am not really at liberty to say more than that."
"I thought they were a myth." Tonks blinked, stunned.
"No matter. We need to focus on the matter at hand." Dumbledore interjected. "Tonks?"
"Sorry Headmaster, I haven't heard anything except that none of Dudley's friends believe the kidnapping story. They don't say it out loud but they are upset about the accusation. They had to have some idea that Dudley was going to run away. I don't understand it. According to the other neighborhood kids he was very spoiled. No one knows anything about Harry really. It's all gossip. I don't think I will find anything else at Little Whinging."
"We'll talk about reassignment later. Molly, Arthur?"
"No Albus. Harry hasn't tried to make any contact with Ron or Ginny."
"He hasn't contacted the Granger girl either."
"Severus?"
"The Dark Lord continues to search as well. He has not yet found the boy. He has been anxious though, one minute pleased the next furious. He believes the boy may be dead, but he wants proof. Apparently he has been unable to give the boy dreams for several days…. Headmaster, I doubt very much he has learned and mastered occlumency in such short time. He was impossible as a student. If he is not dead his mind may be in a dangerous state. You need find him soon or he may not be recoverable." Severus sat.
"What does that mean?"
"You can't just leave it like that."
"Explain yourself!"
"Is he dead then?"
"What-"
"ORDER!" Albus Dumbledore shot sparks in the air. "Calm down this instant. I have reason to believe young Harry is not dead. However, Severus is right in that we must continue to search as quickly as we can. We must find him soon."
XXXxxx
Harry hummed as he set the breakfast table. Kiki wove between his legs and he squatted to pet her. The cat rubbed itself against his hand and purred. Harry smiled.
"You're in a cheerful mood this morning wizardling." The Prince leaned against the doorway already dressed in black slacks and a grey t-shirt.
"Prince!" Harry spun smiling. He fell on his bottom and blinked before grinning and standing fully. He rushed over and hugged the startled blond. "I didn't dream at all last night! Not visions or fakes or even regular nightmares! I slept a whole six hours straight!"
"Congratulations Ree." Prince smiled back even as he inwardly cringed at the thought those six hours of peaceful sleep was the cause of celebration.
"You're sad." Harry lost some of his smile looking up with big eyes. "Is something wrong?"
"No Little One. I am just upset that you have had such bad dreams in the past. I truly am happy for you." He ruffled the multi colored hair while focusing on his relief and happiness.
"Oh, okay." Harry studied the other boy a moment longer before smiling again and moving back into the kitchen. "I made crapes!"
It had been nearly a week since the night Harry had confessed about his abilities, and the younger boy had gradually opened up to him. Prince had convinced him to work on reading emotions and they often sat together talking about emotions and working on shielding.
He had found a book written by an empath and it described shielding technique. Prince didn't understand pieces of it, but Harry seemed to understand it fairly well. The younger boy still struggled with it though, and the book described how it could take years to develop good shields. The book also talked about anchors, a subject Prince was reluctant to explain to the empath.
"Are you coming?"
Prince laughed at the pout in the voice and stalked into the kitchen.
XXXxxx
Dudley Dursley watched his cousin move easily around the kitchen. After much argument and frustration, Harry had confessed to enjoying cooking. After this tentative proclamation six days ago the other boys agreed to let him do the cooking with the understanding that they would clean up. The Prince guy was especially careful to keep track of how much housework Ree was doing and balance it. The blond had called them out more than once when the two teens had left messes that the younger boy took care of.
Dudley was trying to help. Ree was actually an adorable kid. He was shy and skittish around him most of the time but Dudley had seen how he interacts with the Prince. Like now Ree would smile and chatter quietly, glancing up frequently for approval. Harry's bruises had faded except for the ring around his throat, and he no longer limped, but the boy was still so fragile…
Dudley was good at noticing weaknesses. It made him a rather effective bully, a fact he wasn't proud of, but it was also what had gotten him on the wrestling team to begin with. He could see that Harry still held himself carefully, that he gasped or winced if he bent wrong or bumped into something. He remembered Prince's original warnings about a broken collarbone and cracked ribs. He worried over his little cousin and realized he was developing quite a protective streak for the boy he'd hurt so badly in the past. I should have protected him from the start. He's really so innocent it's amazing I didn't notice sooner…
He knew Ree beamed every time one of them complemented the other boy or fussed over him. The younger boy was slowly loosing that look of baffled confusion that appeared when they took over the cleaning or insisted he rest or even just asked him what he wanted to watch on the TV. It was heart-wrenching to realize how unused to positive attention Ree was.
Dudley remembered clearly the wakeup call he'd had the previous summer. He'd been taunting his cousin to the point where the other boy had drawn his wand and threatened him. He wasn't too clear on the details after that but one minute he was blustering and the next he was freezing cold.
It was dark all around him. He shivered in the cold. He felt miserable, like he'd never be happy again. Slowly, in the background he could hear himself whimpering piteously and yelling at the freak to stop, but he was focused on a memory.
Dudley was young maybe six or seven and he wanted a snack. It was nighttime and he was supposed to be sleeping so he snuck down the stairs to raid the kitchen for pudding. He was surprised to hear noises in the living room. He snuck down the hall and peaked in cautiously.
His father was standing in the middle of the room, his face a furious purple as he ranted in a low voice. The freak was curled on the rug sobbing silently and holding a bloody nose. As he watched his father raised a fist and swung it at the brunette. The freak was stupid and didn't even try to dodge. Dudley watched in morbid fascination as the other boy tumbled a few feet from the force of the blow. He'd never pushed the freak that hard. He entered the room forgetting his sneaking to see if his dad had made the boy bleed more. He saw the brunette's green eyes widen as he got close.
"W'ad you do this time freak?" he asked curiously.
He looked up at his father for answers and was shocked when a sudden blow knocked him over. It hurt terribly and he screamed for his mother. His father's face went from purple to white and he turned and lashed out at the freak again. Dudley screamed louder honestly frightened his father would turn on him again as the man continued to rain blows on the still form next to him.
Dudley wet himself as he watched his father's face go purple again and he started shouting over Dudley's cries. Dudley's mom ran into the room and began shouting at his dad as she pulled Dudley out of harm's way.
Dudley came back to himself slowly. His cousin was hauling him back home. Dudley shivered. He couldn't remember his father ever hitting him like that. It had to be a freak trick. Still, he had no problems believing that the freak could have been hurt like that, and that thought bothered him. They were only little kids after all, surely his father would never….
That had been a turning point. When it had been explained to him that he'd been faced with his worse memory, and that what he'd seen was real he'd had to face several facts. Thankfully his cousin was gone for the rest of the summer. Dudley had taken a long time to accept the fact that his father had ever hit him, and that all the yelling and terror of that night was real and he'd repressed it. All the while he couldn't get his mind around the crying, bloody form of his cousin who his memory-Mum made no effort to protect. It had taken a lot of thinking and nightmares before Dudley was willing to think about abuse.
Dudley looked up from his thoughts as Ree cheerfully called for him and Benny to get their crapes.
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A/N Please review! I know this is short, but I thought you'd like it. I'll try to post again soon. Any questions?