Chapter 14 : Primal Therapy 101

The passages quoted are from the American version of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ", Chapter Thirty-seven, 'The Lost Prophecy', page 820 & 844. Also Chapter Twenty-four, 'Occlumency', page 523. Harry Potter, both books and movies are the sole possession of J K Rowling and Warner Bros. and no copyright infringement was meant or implied by the use of this quoted passage.

"Could you arrange the chairs in a circle, please, Headmaster?" Dan asked, as his group entered the back parlor.

"My pleasure, Daniel," replied Dumbledore, Flicking his wand, the armchairs scooted around on the floor to form the requested configuration.

"Any particular seating arrangements?" Harry asked.

"No . . . actually, I think I know who'll sit next to whom, so I'll give you all a minute and then I'll see if I'm right," answered Dan, with a grin, his back to the chairs.

"Okay, we're all seated," Harry informed him, after a moment of shuffling sounds.

Dan turned around and surveyed the four men and the boy looking at him; his empty chair was right in front of him, Dumbledore to his left, Harry to his right, then Sirius on Harry's right, Remus opposite Dan's chair and Severus seated on the left side of Albus.

"Just as I thought," Dan nodded. "Harry wants answers, so he's next to me, Albus wants to be close to Harry, but knows he's angry, so he's placed me as a buffer. Sirius wants to be next to his Godson, with his best friend on his other side. Severus feels not too uncomfortable next to Remus, and feels slightly less alone with Albus on his other side. Am I right?"

Between bemused smiles, smirks and a bit of blushing, he heard a few grunts of agreement. Sitting down, Dan turned to Harry and studied his facial expression, seeing several conflicting emotions fighting to make themselves known.

"I can tell you're upset, maybe even livid, Harry, but remember, most of what we saw in the move hasn't happened yet, and if we do this right, you won't lose these four men to Voldemort . . . we're here to see they survive, so take a deep breath, put all of that on a back shelf in your mind for right now and focus on what you learned in the movie . . . what you heard from Albus at the end . . . oh, and I'll tell you right now, the movie did not show what went on in the Headmaster's office after you returned from the Ministry."

"What happened," Harry asked, in barely a whisper.

"Quite frankly, you trashed the place,. . . " Dan almost chuckled to see the expression on Harry's face, but decided to let him know how remarkable that scene had been "You went batshit crazy. . . smashed furniture; all of those neat gadgets Albus has on all of those tables . . . I think you would have beaten the crap out of him, too, if he'd tried to argue with you or stop you, but, to his credit, he stayed silent and let you vent your impotent rage and grief . . . . and it was impressive how violent you became."

"I'm sorry, Head . . . " Harry started to apologize.

"No, Harry . . . I can see it is I who owe you an apology," Albus interrupted him, shaking his head sadly.

"You got that right Albus!" Dan agreed, opening 'The Order of the Phoenix' to the chapter about the scene in the Headmaster's office after the Battle in the Ministry. "I'm going to read you the whole thing, and please don't interrupt, all of it must be heard . . . and then some. Oh, a 'Silencing Charm' for this room, please, Albus . . .just in case."

The Headmaster waved his wand and then Dan took a deep breath and started.

XOXOX

Harry's feet hit solid ground again; his knees buckled a little and the golden wizard's head fell with a resounding clunk to the floor. He looked around and saw that he had arrived in Dumbledore's office.

XOXOX

X X X

Rupert waited until the other groups had vacated the kitchen for the upper reaches of #12 and then motioned for everyone to gather at one end of the long wooden table.

"As you saw in the movie, Voldemort and his band of top Death Eaters were all concentrated at the Ministry that night, Voldemort waiting to enter until the minute Harry surfaced into the Atrium. Then he was there for, maybe, five minutes, tops, battling with Albus and trying to get Harry's mind to implode, before the Ministry people started showing up. It's those few minutes that you will have to do your little snatch and run raid." Rupert looked around at the attentive faces before him, except for Draco, who was gazing absently at his hands, clenched in fists on the table. "You want to relax a little, there, Draco . . . you're cutting off the blood circulation to your fingers, mate."

"Huh? Oh, right." Draco spread out his hands and wiggled his fingers. "Sorry, I was just thinking about Father going to Azkaban . . . does he have to get caught . . . can't we warn him, too?" he pleaded, his face showing the strain of knowing what was coming in the months ahead.

"No . . . sorry Draco . . . and think about it; you and your Mum are open to the possibility of getting out from under Voldemort's thumb . . . would your Dad want to hear anything we're telling you? He'd freak out! And then he'd rush to report what he'd seen and heard and get us all killed. Right now, he's about as close to Voldemort as he can get; all plumped up with his own importance, or so he thinks, as old Tom's star Death Eater. Your Aunt Bella and he are the top two and proud of it!"

"Rupert is correct, dear. Your Father would turn us over to his Master without a thought, at this point in time." Narcissa looked at the red-headed young Muggle sitting at the end of the table.

Rupert nodded, then thought of what the next movie would show them.

"As we watch the next movies, you'll see how swiftly Voldemort uses both of you as so much fodder for his campaign against Harry. The fact that Lucius and his cronies fail him in retrieving the prophesy and wind up in Azkaban for most of this coming year does not put old Tom in a good mood and you are all in jeopardy with that bastard. Your Aunt Bella takes full advantage of Lucius' absence to ingratiate herself into Voldemort's favor. And she's just as willing to "throw you under the bus" as not."

"What does that mean?" asked Molly.

"It's a Muggle expression that means you'd sacrifice your best friend . . . or family member, to get ahead. 'Throwing someone under the bus' is a way of saying, 'let him get hurt, not me' and you'll 'help' by pushing him into the path of the oncoming 'bus', the bus being someone's wrath or a punishment that's heading your way," Rupert explained.

"That's very Slytherin, isn't it?" Narcissa giggled, in spite of the serious nature of the discussion.

"And it'd be very Gryffindor to pull that person out of the way and take the hit yourself, " added Minerva. "Also patently stupid, but then we Gryffindors think with our hearts first and heads second, sometimes to our detriment."

"Yeah, that's Harry's biggest problem, actually; always trying to do the right thing to help people instead of asking for help. Comes from having no-one and I mean NO ONE, to turn to for help the first eleven years of his life." Rupert added. "Now where was I? Oh, right, those important few minutes . . . not a long time, in the scheme of things, but all the time we'll have to invade Voldemort's headquarters and snatch Peter Pettigrew and kill Nagini."

"WHAT!" "Pettigrew!" "That awful snake?!" "Kill - how?"

"Ah, how indeed. This is where you, Draco, and you, Narcissa, are going to have to make a hard choice . . . will you help us with this or would you rather stay out of harm's way for the minute. If it works as we've planned, you won't be suspected of anything, but, either way, you'll have to go through the ordeal of Lucius' trial and all the fall-out that will swirl around you two."

"In other words, play spy, like Severus?" Narcissa asked. "It will be almost impossible, what with the Dark Lord always checking our minds with Legilimency. I don't think either of us could hide all of what we've seen and heard; we're already in deeper than we ever imagined," Narcissa admitted. "How will we be able to keep all this from him?"

"Ah, we wondered about that, ourselves, but Hermione - the future Hermione - has sent some handy memory altering spells that will hide all of this information and still let you know which side you're working for, especially when you're near Voldemort. It's going to be a very sharp edge of the sword to walk, but I think you'll be busy taking care of Lucius when he gets out of Azkaban and until then Voldemort will expect you to semi-avoid him, so as to not catch any spillover of his anger at Lucius." Rupert turned to her son, trying to make sure he wasn't feeling left out of the plans.

"You, Draco," Rupert continued, "will be safe at school. This coming summer will be taken up with the trial and your memory spell will totally shield you. Your memories come back to you in full, when you go back to Hogwarts in September, although, on some level, I believe you'll also know that you're not going to blindly follow all of Voldemort's orders. We're doing everything we can think of to keep you two safe. Also, you now know you can trust Severus to help you."

"You knew we'd want to help. How? Oh, right, from our reactions and actions the first time." Narcissa nodded, even as she answered her own question. "But, will we still have to do everything . . ."

"No," Rupert replied. "That's the point. It'll be different this time around, and we'll be ahead of Voldemort at every turn . . . but there's one thing that needs doing first, and that's getting Peter Pettigrew and Nagini out of the picture. Now, here's our plan . . . "

X X X

Emma closed the door of the front parlor, took a deep breath and turned to face her group. She took her copy of 'the Order of the Phoenix' and sat down a couch next to Ginny. Looking around, she suddenly realized how much all this meant to these kids, knowing what was ahead instead of just blindly making their way into and through a nearly deadly confrontation with Death Eaters. Maybe this time, with the knowledge of what really was going to happen, they'd come out of it a little worse for the wear.

"First off, what they showed in the movie is not exactly what happened in the Ministry; you all were hurt, some badly and only Harry and Neville make it to the Veil Chamber," she shared with the Hogwarts students and then turned to the two Aurors and continued. "Tonks, you almost get killed by Bella and Mad-eye, you're hurt badly, also. Kingsley and Remus are more or less unharmed."

"How is it different in the book and why didn't they show what really happened in the movie?" Hermione asked, which made Emma smile . . . of course it would be Hermione who asked.

"It was just too involved, technically, to produce all of the magical things that are in the Department of Mysteries, plus, casting almost a dozen Death Eaters, with their dialogue and scenes . . . well, that gets expensive and time consuming; it was just more practical to let all of you and only six Death Eaters into the Veil chamber and have the members of the Order show up and end the Battle as it did in the book. Also, in the book, Bella is trapped under a statue and Voldemort grabs her and 'Apparates' out of the Atrium. Those two were the only ones who escaped, eleven Death Eaters, including Draco's father wind up in Azkaban." Emma saw their eyes fly open in shock.

"Eleven Death Eaters?!" "Blimey!" "How on earth did we get out of there alive?" "Eleven!"

"Yes, it was a close thing, all around. You six against eleven Death Eaters! With orders to kill any of you they could. Harry was the only one they couldn't harm . . . plus getting the Prophesy sphere, of course. Let's go through the whole thing, shall we?" Emma opened the book to the marked page. "This starts just as you all are getting on the Thestrals."

"They looked very real in the movie, didn't they?" Luna turned to Neville, who nodded. "I love riding on them; they are really good at gliding on the wind and it's quite a lovely feeling."

"Reminds me of broom riding and I'm not that keen on heights, but it might be fun to try if we're not haring off on some adventure." Neville whispered back.

"Life's an adventure, Neville." Luna leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You'll see."

"And speaking of adventure . . . here we go." Emma started reading about the 'Battle at the Ministry'.

X X X

"You know, mate, it's scary . . . " Fred tilted his head.

"how much you look like Draco . . ." George finished, as was usual with the twins.

"I know. Except for the blond hair. People are really surprised, sometimes, that I'm not naturally blond," Tom replied. "But it makes it easier for me to slide into other film rolls; in one I wore glasses, like Dan, and got the giggles every time I looked in the mirror - shades of Harry Potter!"

"And you aren't a bit like Draco . . . " George observed.

"Because your personality . . . that's REALLY. . ." Fred paused, thinking.

"Bizarre?" Tom ventured.

"Freaky?" George suggested.

"Refreshing!" Fred declared.

"Well, Draco in 2012 has grown up and matured, he's married AND a father, but is, basically still Draco, just friendlier."

"Who'd marry the ferret?'' Fred asked, hand to chest against the shock.

"What poor demented girl succumbed to his greasy charms?" George inquired.

"Astoria Greengrass. Hufflepuff. She's in the same grade as Ginny," Tom informed them.

"A Slytherin . . . marry a Hufflepuff?" George gasped.

"You're putting us on!" Fred declared.

"I swear I am not. But . . . I also understand she was Vincent Crabbe's girlfriend, but after he died in the Battle at Hogwarts, well, she and Draco got together a bit later . . . then they had Scorpius," Tom added.

"But if there's no Battle this time, then she might wind up marrying Gregory and . . . " Fred looked thoughtful.

"Draco . . . some other bird . . . " George ended.

"Gentlemen, that is years in an unknown future . . . let's concentrate on your immediate careers at Hogwarts, shall we? Starting with the swamp."

"Swamp?!" Fred and George said at the same time and then looked at each other, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh dear," Tom mumbled, as he turned to the page marked with the sticky tab, labeled "F & G - swamp"

X X X

XOXOX

"I feel I owe you another explanation, Harry," said Dumbledore hesitantly. "You may, perhaps, have wondered why I never chose you as a prefect? I must confess . . . that I rather thought . . . you had enough responsibility to be going on with."

Harry looked up at him and saw a tear trickling down Dumbledore's face into his long silver beard.

XOXOX

Dan put the book down on his lap and accepted the glass of water Albus magiced out of the air, handing it to him in silence. "Thanks."

Looking around, he could see Sirius was just barely keeping his temper in check, Remus was watching his friend warily, while Harry was sitting there, looking thoroughly drained. Turning to look at Dumbledore, it seemed the Headmaster had aged visibly, while Severus was wearing his usual mask, not a sneer in sight.

'This is not going to be easy. Ah, well, in for a penny, in for a pound.' Clearing his throat, Dan looked at Sirius and asked a seemingly out-of-the-blue question.

"Sirius, are you going to give Harry James' mirror to take back with him?" Dan looked straight into the former Marauder's startled eyes.

"Ah, well, yes I was. Why?" Sirius questioned.

"If you give it to him, why won't he ever use it to talk to you? Why use the Floo? That's why Kreacher was able to lie to him. Why didn't you ask Harry where it was?"

"But . . . but . . . wait! I haven't even given it to him, yet! And why wouldn't he use it?'

"Why indeed. Let me enlighten you." Picking up the book again, Dan flipped to another marked passage and began to read.

XOXOX

"I want you to take this," he said quietly, thrusting a badly wrapped package roughly the size of a paperback book into Harry's hands.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"A way of letting me know if Snape's giving you a hard time. No, don't open it here!" said Sirius, with a wary look at Mrs. Weasley, who was trying to persuade the twins to wear hand-knitted mittens. "I doubt Molly would approve - but I want you to use it if you need me, all right?"

"Okay," said Harry, stowing the package away in the inside pocket of his jacket, but he knew he would never use whatever is was. It would not be he, Harry, who lured Sirius from his place of safety, no matter how foully Snape treated him in the forthcoming Occlumency classes.

XOXOX

"Harry! It's just a mirror James and I used to talk to each other." Sirius turned to Harry, brows knitted. "Didn't you even look to see what it was?"

"You haven't given it to me!" Harry looked at Sirius with a puzzled expression, hands held up.

"Perhaps if you'd told him what it was without the snide remark about Severus, he'd have been happy to be able to chat you up regularly about how things were going at school. Your hatred for Severus put Harry into his 'protective' mode, which led to all sorts of trouble, didn't it?" Dan looked at Sirius with raised eyebrow.

"Oh, right, I keep forgetting . . . wait a minute . . . why would Severus treat you "Foully", I believe was the word used in that book." Sirius spun around from looking at Harry to glare at Severus, who just crossed his armed and waited, eyebrow raised. "What's Harry even done to Snape to deserve that kind of treatment?"

"He acts as he does toward Harry for the same reason you give him grief; you all haven't grown up and gotten past the schoolboy revenge/payback/one-upsmanship phase . . . which is going to stop RIGHT NOW!" Dan answered. "We went through this earlier, Sirius and I'm about to lay it on the line to Severus. Remus won't have such a hard time adjusting, as he's seen both sides, but he doesn't like confrontations, so takes a back seat and lets you two go at it"

"And exactly what am I to change?" Severus inquired.

"Okay . . . here goes." Dan took out a list, checked the notes and turned to the Potions professor. "Harry is NOT a reincarnation of James Potter. Yes, he looks almost like him, but he was not raised as his dad was; an only child, spoiled, knowing he was a wizard, knowing about Hogwarts. Harry was treated like a House Elf by the Dursleys. He was never given anything for his birthday or Christmas except some piece of trash or broken bit of his cousin's overflowing pile of junk. He wore his cousin's hand-me-down clothes, several sizes too big. In truth, he was barely fed, plus Harry slept in a closet under the stairs . . . until he got his letter. Dropped feet first . . . knowing nothing of magic, his family history, the Marauders, NOTHING. . . Even Muggle-born kids are visited by someone from the school before they come to Hogwarts and everything is explained to them and their parents. Harry was dumped straight into Hogwarts and the Wizarding world. And what does he get from you? Totally undeserved, unfounded, unrelenting hatred . . . what were your first words to him . . . "Mister Potter . . . our new celebrity." He didn't even know who Voldemort was!"

Sirius was actually growling, but calmed down as soon as both Harry and Remus each laid a hand on one of his arms.

"If you'd taken the time to actually talk to Harry, introduced yourself as a friend of his mother's from her days at Hogwarts, you'd have quickly realized he has much more of Lily in him than James - aside from his Quidditch skills; that's pure James."

"Here, here!" muttered Remus. Severus snorted.

"Wouldn't you have rather seen a smile in those green eyes than glints of anger and pain, Severus?" Dan questioned. "Wasn't pain, caused by you, the last thing you saw in Lily's eyes?"

Severus gasped, looked thunderous for a few seconds, then let out a breath and leaned back in his chair, looking at Harry, who looked right back, unflinchingly, no expression on his face.

"Merlin . . . what have I done," muttered Severus.

Then a small smile played at the corners of Harry's mouth as Dan continued.

"So, although I doubt if an apology would suffice to cover all of the mistaken verbal abuse you've poured down on Harry for the last four and a half years, at least if you could cease the hurtful behavior towards him. That will be a good start. However, let's not get all buddy-buddy here, either. Severus, you do have your reputation as "Head of Slytherin House" to consider. Plus your role in this fight against Voldemort. . . you can't become 'Big Brother' to Harry suddenly, so you'll have to carry on as usual, just not as much or as often. And that includes the Occlumency lessons. Harry will understand it's part of this war against Voldemort, the way you act towards him, from now on."

Dan held up his hand as both Severus and Sirius opened their mouths to speak. "Wait . . . I'm just getting started and I really don't want to deal with petty snit fits."

Both men looked at him as if he'd grown turnips out of his ears.

"Snit fits?" Albus chuckled, then quickly hid his mouth behind his hand, trying, and failing miserably to return his face to a more serious posture. Dan smiled at him and shook his head. "Don't get too smug, Albus . . . you're next." That effectively wiped the smile off the Headmaster's face.