After Flitwick had dismissed Takashi and White, he led Harry silently through the Hogwarts corridors and up to Dumbledore's office. Harry spent the walk trying to figure out what was going to happen to him. He doubted that they would send him back to the Ravenclaw dormitories, not after the threats that White had made, but where else could he sleep? He'd never heard of someone being excommunicated by their House before.

Dumbledore was sitting with his hands clasped on the desk in front of him, as though he had been waiting for them to arrive. "Good evening, Filius, Mr. Potter."

"Merry meet, Headmaster." Harry acknowledged, as he sat in the seat that Professor Flitwick gestured him towards.

There were few seconds of silence, before Dumbledore spoke again. "What can I do for you?"

Flitwick, whose short legs were hanging off the edge of the chair, frowned. "It seems as though my Ravenclaws are lacking the ability to scrutinize the information that they read." He sounded offended by the thought.

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "Should I take that to mean that this matter is related to Miss Skeeter's article in this morning's edition of the Daily Prophet?"

"Yes," Flitwick nodded sharply.

Dumbledore turned his focus to Harry. "I do wish you had felt comfortable sharing the knowledge of your…ability with me, dear boy. Perhaps, if I'd had some prior knowledge, I could have prevented the articles release."

Harry swallowed down a grimace, he wished Sirius was here.

Dumbledore rested his gaze on Harry, as though waiting for a response, before turning back to Flitwick. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"Ravenclaw House has taken it upon themselves to repudiate Mr. Potter." Flitwick explained disapprovingly. "Miss White has informed me that, should we ignore their wishes and sent Mr. Potter back, they will take matters into their own hands."

Harry resisted the urge to slump down in his chair. As though his day hadn't been disheartening enough, now he had to listen to the account of how his House had rejected him – living through the experience had been bad enough.

Dumbledore's mouth fell open. "Are you sure you did mishear her, Filius? I find it hard to believe that Miss White would be so injudicious."

Flitwick bristled. "I am quite sure, Headmaster. Though I assure you, I was just as shocked as you are. To think that one of my prefects would act so foolishly."

Harry thought that White's behaviour barely scratched the surface of the foolishness of Ravenclaw House. After all, according to White the entire House had voted on the matter. She had just been the spokesperson.

"Yes," Dumbledore's expression was mournful. "It is indeed shocking. Though I am sure that she is merely reacting from a place of fear. It is an alarming thing when one is forced to confront their fears."

Flitwick didn't look impressed. "As alarming as Miss White and her housemates are no doubt finding the situation, that is not my concern at this moment. Mr. Potter is in need of a place to stay tonight."

"You are sure that his Ravenclaw dormitory is not an option?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry stared at Dumbledore in disbelief. Had he not been listening?

"I am." Flitwick answered firmly.

Dumbledore was looking sad again. "Then perhaps we could add a bed to the Gryffindor dormitories for the night."

Harry stiffened. What?

"You cannot be serious, Headmaster." Flitwick seemed just as astonished by the suggestion as Harry was. "You cannot be unaware that this morning's article has sparked a great deal of animosity towards Mr. Potter amongst the Gryffindors."

Dumbledore peered disapprovingly over his glasses. "I am sure that your outburst did not help the situation, Mr. Potter."

Harry met his eyes unflinchingly. He wasn't going to apologise for insulting Weasley when the other boy had clearly deserved it. There was sudden tickle in his brain and Harry's eyes narrowed when he realised that Dumbledore was attempting to use Legilimency against him.

"I presume you are aware that using Legilimency on a person without their consent is a crime, Headmaster." Harry commented as evenly as he could. "Not to mention using it on someone who is underage."

Harry wasn't sure who looked more surprised, Dumbledore, at being caught out, or Flitwick, whose head snapped around to stare at Harry.

"Are you accusing the Headmaster of performing Legilimency on you, Harry?" Flitwick asked worriedly.

Harry considered the question. Was he accusing the Headmaster? Or just warning him not to try again?

"Yes." Harry decided firmly. "I would like Lord Black present."

Dumbledore's face fell. "I am sure that is unnecessary, my dear boy."

"You just attacked me, Headmaster." Harry pointed out, his stomach twisting nervously. "I would feel much safer if my godfather was here."

Flitwick, who had been glancing between Harry and Dumbledore, brought out his wand. "Of course, Mr. Potter. I noticed that he wasn't at dinner this evening. Has he returned to the castle, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore frowned disapprovingly at Flitwick. "Sirius presence is not required, Filius. His presence in the castle is due to the Triwizard Tournament and this is a Hogwarts' matter."

Flitwick squared his shoulders. "If you do not summon Lord Black, I will, Headmaster. Mr. Potter has made a serious accusation…"

"Which is completely unfounded." Dumbledore interrupted, taking on an injured expression.

"The validity of Mr. Potter's accusation is not up for debate." Flitwick argued harshly. "He has requested Lord Black's presence, which is his right."

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well." He picked up a quill and wrote a short note on a piece of parchment, before charming the parchment into a small paper bird that flew out of the office. "Now, perhaps we might discuss the original purpose for this meeting while we wait."

"Not until Lord Black is present." Flitwick denied firmly.

Harry didn't think he had ever respected his professor more.

They sat in a heavy silence that was only interrupted by Dumbledore occasional attempts to defuse the situation. Each attempt was firmly thwarted by Professor Flitwick who seemed intent on not allowing Dumbledore any interaction with Harry until Sirius arrived.

By Dumbledore's fifth attempt, and subsequently, Flitwick's fifth interruption, the Headmaster was clearly beginning to get frustrated.

"Is this really necessary, Filius?" He frowned. "Surely you do not believe that I would do something as rash as attempting to use Legilimency against Mr. Potter."

Flitwick's expression didn't waver. "It is not my place to determine the legitimacy of Mr. Potter's accusation. My role, as Mr. Potter's Head of House, is to make his safety my first priority."

"As is my role as Headmaster." Dumbledore agreed smoothly. "We are all on the same side here, Filius."

Harry wondered if Dumbledore knew that he was using Flitwick's name in every second sentence. Was it some kind of manipulation technique? Or was Dumbledore just obsessed with using people's names?

"I am glad to hear that, Headmaster." Flitwick agreed.

There was a long pause, before Dumbledore frowned again. "Perhaps it would be wise for me to have a witness of my own present. I am sure Minerva would be willing to observe our conversation."

Flitwick inclined his head. "If that is your wish, Headmaster."

Dumbledore wrote out another note, before charming it into another bird and sending it on its way.

Harry sighed quietly. How was it that the biggest things on his mind yesterday had been the Third Task of the Tournament (that he still knew nothing about) and his exams? Those things seemed almost insignificant now, what with him behind despised by most of the school, excommunicated by his House, and having just accused Dumbledore of attacking him.

Merlin, why couldn't his life be easy?

Sirius arrived a few minutes later and, while he looked surprised to see Harry, he simply nodded in acknowledgement of Harry and Flitwick's bow before transfiguring Harry's chair into a two seater couch and sitting down.

"I'm glad you could make it, Sirius." Dumbledore greeted him earnestly.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked brusquely.

"We're just waiting for one more member of our party, and then I will be able to explain." Dumbledore answered.

Sirius looked at Flitwick and then at Harry. "I'm sure you won't mind if I have a word with Harry while we wait."

Dumbledore opened his mouth, but Flitwick bet him to it.

"Of course not, Lord Black."

Sirius shot Flitwick a smile and pulled out his wand to cast a privacy spell. "You alright, Harry?"

Harry clenched his jaw to prevent his expression from crumbling. "Not really."

"Want to tell me what's going on?" Sirius asked softly.

"The whole school hates me." Harry admitted. "Well, except for the Slytherins. The Ravenclaws tried to stop me sitting at our table at lunch, and then, when I went up for bed, they told me that they were kicking me out."

Sirius' mouth dropped open. "What?"

"They think I'm a Death Eater." Harry explained. "White, one of the prefects, told Flitwick that if I go back they're going to take matters into their own hands to protect themselves."

Sirius wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders. "Oh, Harry."

"And then Dumbledore tried to use Legilimency on me." Harry finished. "That's why you're here."

Sirius' expression turned thunderous. "He did what?"

"I reminded him that it was a crime." Harry went on. "And Professor Flitwick asked if I was accusing Dumbledore of using it against me. I said yes, I hope that's alright. I didn't know if I should. I didn't want it to be like the Fudge thing all over again."

Sirius' expression seemed to be warring between fury and amusement at the memory of Harry's interaction with Fudge over Christmas – fury won.

"You did the right thing." He told Harry seriously.

"It won't cause problems?" Harry asked, he glanced towards Dumbledore to check that the Headmaster couldn't hear what they were saying. "I know you and Lord Malfoy hadn't planned on moving against him until later."

"To hell with any problems." Sirius exclaimed, squeezing Harry's shoulder." You're the important one. Keeping you safe is my number one priority."

Harry smiled weakly. "That's what Flitwick said when Dumbledore tried to convince him to sweep it all under the carpet."

Sirius shot a grateful look towards Flitwick. "Good on him. Who are we waiting on?"

"McGonagall." Harry sighed. "Dumbledore wanted to have someone on his side."

Sirius didn't look impressed by that. "I need to know what you want to happen. Are you alright with me telling Amelia?"

Harry glanced towards Dumbledore who was looking more and more frustrated. "If I say yes, and he gets fired, people are going to hate me even more."

"Maybe." Sirius nodded.

Harry considered it. "Yes."

"Yes, you want me to tell Amelia?" Sirius checked.

Harry nodded.

"Good."

Harry saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see McGonagall entering the office. She stopped with a surprised expression when she saw the other occupants of the room, but then conjured herself a chair on the other side of Flitwick's chair.

"Thank you for coming, Minerva." Dumbledore greeted her.

McGonagall inclined her head. "What is going on?"

"We have two issues at hand." Flitwick answered, as Dumbledore opened his mouth. "Firstly, Mr. Potter has been repudiated by Ravenclaw House. I brought him here to discuss alternate living arrangements with the Headmaster."

"Well, I never!" McGonagall looked incensed. "Such disloyalty!"

"Yes, however, that's not the reason I called you here, Minerva." Dumbledore started. "Mr…"

Flitwick broke in. "The second issue is that Mr. Potter has accused Headmaster Dumbledore of performing Legilimency on him against his will."

McGonagall stared at Flitwick, and then at Dumbledore, and then at Harry. "I beg your pardon."

"I…" Dumbledore started.

"Mr. Potter immediately asked for Lord Black's presence." Flitwick interrupted against. "At which point Dumbledore insisted that you be present as well."

"I see." McGonagall' expression was disapproving. "Would not the Aurors office have been a more appropriate port of call?"

"Minerva!" Dumbledore looked hurt. "You cannot believe Mr. Potter's accusation."

If anything, McGonagall's expression became even more disapproving. "I do not,…"

Harry's shoulders slumped, before he straightened them again.

"…however," She continued. "That is neither here, nor there. It is up to the Aurors to decide the validly of the allegation, not me, and certainly not you."

Sirius squeezed Harry's shoulder encouragingly. "Exactly. Perhaps now would be a good time to call for the Aurors."

McGonagall leaned forward so that she could see Harry. "You are sure this is the course of action you wish to take, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, Professor.

"Then, yes," McGonagall nodded firmly. "This is exactly the time to call for the Aurors."

41-41-41

The Aurors that came through the floo seemed so astonished at the idea that anyone would dare accuse Dumbledore of committing a crime (and suspicious that Harry, the parselmouth, was the one accusing him) that Sirius immediately demanded different Aurors. Dumbledore protested it, of course, but in the end a much put out looking Lady Bones stepped out of the floo.

She, with the assistance of the two original Aurors, took statements from Harry, Dumbledore and Flitwick, and, when it was clear that Harry and Dumbledore's stories were conflicting (and Flitwick's account was pretty much useless), suggested gently that if Harry wanted his accusation to be believed he would need to use Veritaserum.

"Really, Madame Bones," Dumbledore interrupted with a frown. "Mr. Potter is underage. You know full well that the DMLE is not authorised to use Veritaserum on underaged wizards."

"Unless both they, and their guardian, give their consent." Sirius pointed out. "Harry?"

"I want to take it." Harry decided firmly.

"And I give my consent." Sirius nodded.

"I must protest," Dumbledore started. "Veritaserum is far from infallible. If Mr. Potter is as proficient at Occlumency as he claims to be, he may be able to fight its effects."

Lady Bones frowned at him. "If Mr. Potter is as proficient at Occlumency as he claims to be, it only strengthens the accusation he made against you. Besides, the only proven instance of an Occlumens lying through Veritaserum was the result of years of ingesting truth serums of different strengths. Surely you are not claiming that Mr. Potter could have done the same?"

"No, no, of course not." Dumbledore denied. "I am simply concerned about the effects the Veritaserum may have to Mr. Potter's health."

"I want to take it." Harry repeated firmly.

"Mitchens." Lady Bones held out a hand, and one of the younger Aurors stepped forward and passed her a small vial. "Tongue out, Mr. Potter." She instructed.

Harry glanced behind him at Sirius, whose hand was resting encouragingly on Harry's shoulder, before turning back and poking out his tongue. He felt three drops fall on his tongue, before Lady Bones told him to swallow.

There was a long pause, and then Lady Bones began to ask the questions.

"What is your name?"

"Harry James Potter." Harry heard himself answer flatly.

"When is your birthday?"

"31st of July, 1991."

"Who is your godfather?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

"Are you a parselmouth?!" The question didn't come from Lady Bones, but Harry had no choice not to answer it.

"Yes."

"Mitchens, get him out of here." Lady Bones snapped.

Harry watched as one of the original Aurors practically pushed the other one through the floo.

"Why did you come to Dumbledore's office this evening?" Lady Bones asked.

"Professor Flitwick told me to." Harry answered.

Lady Bones' eyes crinkled. "Do you believe that Headmaster Dumbledore performed Legilimency against you?"

"Yes."

Harry could hear McGonagall gasp in surprise.

"Did you give him your consent to do so?" Lady Bones continued.

"No."

"How did you recognise Headmaster Dumbledore's attack on your mind?"

"I felt it."

"Mitchens." Bones called. "Tongue out, Mr. Potter."

The antidote worked just as quickly as the original serum did and within a minute, Harry felt like himself again.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter." Lady Bones smiled tightly, before turning to face Dumbledore. "Do you have anything further to say, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore was looking thoroughly disappointed with all of them. "You cannot truly believe such an outrageous claim, Madame Bones. The idea that I would attack one of my student's minds is simply ludicrous."

Lady Bones looked severe. "I see. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you are being charged with the attempted assault on an underaged wizard using Legilimency. If you would please accompany us through the floo?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I believe we have reached a parting of ways, if you will."

"Oh?" Lady Bones asked, her wand in her hand. "Don't do anything rash, Dumbledore."

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to arrest me." Dumbledore explained apologetically. "Voldemort is still out there, you know. I can't allow you to send me to Azkaban. Certainly I could break out, but it would waste valuable time that we just don't have."

Lady Bones looked thoroughly unimpressed. "Are you announcing your intent to resist arrest?"

"Yes, I believe I am." Dumbledore admitted.

"And I suppose that you plan to take on myself, Mitchens, Lord Black, and Professors McGonagall and Flitwick?" Lady Bones asked.

"Only if you make me." Dumbledore pointed out in a reasonable tone.

Sirius gripped Harry's shoulder tightly and pulled him to his feet. "Get behind me."

Harry obeyed quickly, even as he drew his own wand. How was this happening?

"Stupify!" Mitchens suddenly shouted and, as Dumbledore easily shielded from the spell, Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes. Really? Did the Auror not know that shouting a spell only made it easier for it to be blocked?

Suddenly Lady Bones cast a spell, with Sirius and Flitwick only half a second behind her. McGonagall was standing near one of the walls looking conflicted. Harry couldn't imagine what she was feeling. Everyone knew that she was Dumbledore's supporter, through and through.

Dumbledore blocked all the spells easily, and then raised his own wand.

In a split second, Harry had a thought. Parselmagic couldn't be blocked by any non-parselmagic shield and so far Dumbledore had used a shield to block all the spells sent at him. If Harry cast the Parselmagic equivalent of a stunning spell, quietly enough that Dumbledore didn't know that it was different, he might try and block it in the same way.

He raised his wand. :Sleep!:

Simultaneously, a streak of silver light flashed out of a Dumbledore's wand. The floor shook, dust filled the room, voices shouted, Fawkes screeched, and then Harry knew now more.

41-41-41

"What if he wakes up?"

"We don't even know what happened to him."

"Did anyone see a spell hit him?"

"Harry? Harry?"

Harry opened his eyes with a groan, before flinching back when he saw Sirius' face only inches away from his own. His head hit the floor with a crack. "Ow!"

"Sorry." Sirius offered him a hand. "How are you feeling?"

Harry allowed himself to be pulled into a sitting position and then raised a hand to rub his head. "Nauseous. What happened?"

"We're not sure." Sirius admitted. "Dumbledore cast something to knock us all out, but it seems to have knocked him out as well."

Harry looked around Sirius to where the Headmaster was lying unconscious on the floor with Lady Bones, Mitchens, Flitwick, and McGonagall gathered around him.

"Um, I think it might have been me." Harry admitted quietly. "I cast a Parselmagic spell on him."

"What?" Sirius asked loudly, drawing the attention of the others. "Didn't you hear me telling you to stay behind me?"

"I did." Harry protested with a frown. "I just thought maybe I could help as well as cower behind you."

"You weren't cowering." Sirius argued. "You were staying safe. What did you cast?"

"Sleep." Harry answered.

Lady Bones crouched down beside him. "You cast a spell, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, my lady." Harry nodded, before wincing when the movement increased his nausea. "I cast a," He glanced nervously towards Sirius who nodded encouragingly. "I cast a Parselmagic spell."

"Parselmagic!" Mitchens exclaimed in horror. "Like, as in, Parseltongue?!"

Harry looked down nervously. "Yes. It can't be blocked by normal shields and Dumbledore was only using shields to block your spells, so I thought that I might be able surprise him."

Sirius barked out a laugh. "I'll say you did."

"What does the spell do?" Lady Bones asked worriedly.

"It's the equivalent of a stunning spell." Harry explained. "I don't know how long it will last though."

Lady Bones looked back towards Dumbledore. "Well, then, we should probably get Dumbledore back to the Ministry."

"That's it?" Mitchens asked in disbelief. "He cast a spell in Parseltongue! Shouldn't we be arresting him, Director?"

Lady Bones stood swiftly and glared at him. "Under what charge? Assisting Aurors in a high-profile arrest? Don't be ridiculous, Mitchens."

Harry exchanged an amused glance with Sirius. Lady Bones was smashing!

Madame Bones and Mitchens left soon after, with Dumbledore being levitated with them, and then it was just Sirius, Harry, Flitwick and McGonagall.

"Well," Sirius looked around the room that was looking a little worse for wear. "That wasn't quite what I was expecting." He offered a hand to Harry who used it to climb to his feet.

Professor McGonagall was looking rather lost.

"Thank you, Professor Flitwick." Harry said earnestly.

"Yes," Sirius nodded. "Thank you. Your actions this evening do you proud."

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "I must apologise, Mr. Potter. For not believing your claim."

"You still suggested that we call the Aurors though, Professor." Harry comforted her. "Thank you."

"It seems that we are in the need of a temporary Headmaster," Sirius started. "Professor McGonagall, I cannot speak for the rest of the Board, but would you be willing to fulfil the role for now?"

McGonagall still looked off balance, but she nodded slowly. "Of course."

"Excellent." Sirius smiled. "Now, it seems that we still have one more order of business. I believe Harry needs somewhere to sleep. Would my quarters be acceptable, at least as a short-term solution? I would be happy to convert my living area into a second bedroom. I spend hardly any time there anyway."

McGonagall and Flitwick exchanged a glance before nodding.

"That seems very reasonable." McGonagall agreed. "I will have the elves prepare the room while you walk there. They will also remove Mr. Potter's belongings from his dormitory."

"Thank you." Sirius told her sincerely. "I presume you will make an announcement regarding Dumbledore's absence at breakfast tomorrow?"

"Perhaps it should come from the Board." McGonagall suggested.

"Very well." Sirius nodded. "I will contact Lucius and discuss that matter with him after I have seen Harry to bed."

Harry swallowed down a tired yawn. The idea of having to do anything more tonight was exhausting.

"Please remember that the Board contains more members than just yourself and Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall commented dryly.

Sirius looked amused. "Of course."

41-41-41