Author's Note:

I hope you all are enjoying the quick updates. I've been on a writing streak ever since I got over that writer's block a little while ago. You all have some really great thoughts about where you think this story's going to go, and the plot bunnies are tempting me to follow them, but a lot of them would affect the entire plot too much. If you're wondering about Draco, he'll be back soon enough. Right now he's doing just about as well as somebody can do when they find out they're betrothed to someone. You can figure out how well that is.

Chapter 11

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood beside the gargoyle at the entrance to the headmaster's office before dinner that night, shouting the names of sweets until the door opened.

"Lemon Drops!"

"Sugar Quills!"

"Chocolate Frogs!"

"Licorice Wands!"

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!"

"Pumpkin Pasties!"

"Drooble's Best Blowing Gum!"

"Cauldron Cakes!"

The gargoyle moved and the stairs to Dumbledore's office were revealed. The Golden Trio stood on the steps as they took them up to the polished doors. Harry knocked, and a cheery voice said, "Come in." The three fifth-years entered the room to find their headmaster tinkering with one of his silver instruments intently. "Have a Lemon Drop. They're on the desk. Help yourselves." The Gryffindors remained standing until Dumbledore turned towards them. "Ah, so good to see you. You've actually just caught me before I left on an important trip. What can I do for you all?"

Harry stood as straight as he could, attempting to gain some respectability. "We want answers."

"Answers about what, my boy?"

"What happened to me at the end of last year? What did you all do to me?"

Dumbledore took a seat and motioned for them to do the same, conjuring three chairs for them. "You know what happened. Voldemort returned, and you managed to escape from him. Yes, you were in the Infirmary for a bit, but everything's all right now, and that's what's important. You know everything that you should. We haven't taken any of your memories from you, Harry."

Ron shook his head as the three of them sat down. "No, I think we all know that Harry's stay in the Infirmary wasn't anything to shy away from. From what we've heard from him, multiple spells were cast on him aside from medical scans, and we know he was taking a potion four times a day for two weeks. Normal stays in the Infirmary don't warrant that much action."

"I assure you all that what we were doing was perfectly normal. Madam Pomfrey has cast many spells on students over the years to help them recover from what problems they've had to make them stay under her care, and we simply made him continue to take the potion to ensure that he didn't have any adverse side effects from treatment or a relapse. It was all planned out thoroughly in Harry's best interests."

Hermione looked Dumbledore in the eye. "Sir, I mean no disrespect, but I've done some research based on what Harry remembers, and my results have led me to some conclusions that I think the Ministry might be very interested in hearing."

"What could that possibly be? Please, enlighten me."

Ron stood up, ever the strategist. "She'll do no such thing. What she's found, though, is illegal. We'll go to the Ministry, and the press, if you can't tell us what happened to Harry."

"I assure you, nothing has been done that is illegal."

"I'm sure you know that even if this accusation is proven false, the people won't soon forget that the great Dumbledore may have committed a crime, especially when it concerns The-Boy-Who-Lived. Besides, everything that we want to know will have to come out at the trial. We'll find out in one way or another."

"Harry, my boy, don't you have anything to say? What your friends are doing is absurd. Do you even want to be here right now? You seem to have no interest in this."

Harry shook his head. "Actually, it's quite the opposite. I didn't think there was any cause for concern until now, but if you really hadn't done anything too far out of the normal you wouldn't be protesting quite so heavily, especially with a threat of Ministry involvement in the air. Whatever you all did may have been in my "best interests", but I have a right to know what has been done to my body. I stand by them and the choices that they wish to make." Harry stood, as did Hermione. "If you don't plan to explain yourself to us, we'll leave right now. I think there's enough time to contact the Ministry before dinner begins. There might even be enough time to contact The Daily Prophet."

"Harry, please understand. With Voldemort back, I thought the best thing to do would be to keep this from you until the war was over; there's no reason to potentially alarm you over something that shouldn't affect you in any way. I can see that you won't let this rest until you find out what you want to know. This can wait until after the war is over, give you less to think about."

"No, Dumbledore, I deserve to know who I am. I lived for ten years without knowing who I was, and I don't intend to live any longer in ignorance of myself."

"Sit, sit, I'll tell you. I don't want any of this information to get out. You all have to swear to secrecy; it's the only way to keep Voldemort from learning about what we've done." Three heads solemnly nodded and sat down as Dumbledore cast an extra silencing charm on the door and the window. "If you've done your research thoroughly, which I have no doubt of, although it may stray off of the path of the actual events, you will know that Harry's situation should have been fatal."

"Why?"

"Ah, Harry, you were hit with the Stupesquamis Incursio spell. It's meant to stun Dragons, and only Dragons. It's fatal to any other animal. Actually, give me a moment. There's someone else who could probably explain this better than I can." Dumbledore moved to his fireplace, grabbed a pinch of floo powder, and threw it in the fireplace before shouting "Severus' quarters!" and sticking his head into the fireplace. He pulled his head out a minute later. "Yes, Professor Snape will be able to explain this more thoroughly than I will."

"May I ask why?"

"He has studied the spell more thoroughly than I have. He was the one to diagnose Harry's problem, and he created the potion that saved him. He has a better understanding of everything than I do."

Hermione nodded as Professor Snape came through the fireplace. Dumbledore nodded to him. "Stupesquamis Incursio is the spell used to stun Dragons since they are such powerful creatures and their scales provide such a strong defense. It is fatal to any other creature, such as humans. I'd done some research with the spell, mainly in conjunction with creating a solution to its fatality. Mr. Potter's death was certain, so we decided there would be no harm in trying an experimental solution to save him."

"You gave him a potion when you didn't know if it would work?"

"Yes, Miss Granger, but there were no other options available. As I was saying, your headmaster used a Portkey to contact Mr. Weasley's older brother in Romania for some fresh Dragon blood that would be needed in the potion. I went to my lab to begin the process of making the potion, and thankfully Mr. Weasley's older brother understood some of what we were asking of him since he secured a vial of blood from a Hungarian Horntail."

"The same Dragon I fought in the Triwizard Tournament?"

"Yes, I believe so, Mr. Potter. The problem that lies in my solution is that it is very easy for the power of the Dragon to overwhelm the power of the wizard or vice versa. However, we were pressed for time, so I had already resigned myself to the idea that Mr. Potter would have to work with whatever random Dragon Charlie drew blood from, and we would have to hope for the best. You see, the Dragon blood has to mix with the wizard's blood in order to take on the effects of the Stupesquamis Incursio spell and save the wizard. Mr. Potter is such a strong wizard that the blood from the Hungarian Horntail matched him perfectly, leading to a battle between the two for about two hours as Mr. Potter continued to take the potion. We soon realized that a regular Stupefy would have to be cast on Mr. Potter, and we would have to lift the effects of both stunning spells at the same time in order for the Stupesquamis Incursio spell to leave completely. We instructed Mr. Potter to take the potion four times a day to keep the Dragon blood prominent until it completely mixed with his own blood in order to avoid any chances of a relapse."

"So you're saying that now I'm part Dragon?"

"No, Mr. Potter, your blood has been mixed with that of Dragons, but you are not part Dragon. If you were you would be breathing fire or sprouting wings or claws of some sort. You would have to be born with the Dragon blood that is now inside of you for changes of that sort to take effect."

Harry solemnly nodded. "Thank you, both of you, for finally telling me what happened."

Hermione spoke up for a moment. "You realize that crossing wizards with creatures is illegal, don't you?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, Miss Granger, but I believe the law states that it is excusable in the event that it is used when there are no other options available to save the wizard's life. Therefore what we did is not illegal in any way. Now, if that is all you wanted to know, I believe it's time for dinner now."