A/N: Thank you to the over 160 people that reviewed chapter 14 at the time this chapter is being posted. Your questions and comments help me to keep writing and to improve the story.

I just finished my Masters program and so am taking the family on vacation. A week in an RV visiting Yellowstone National Park. It should either bring us all closer together or mass murder. We'll see which. But before I left and with my classwork complete, I wanted to get you all a new chapter. (Plus if it is a mass murder, I probably won't get another chance!)

Warning: little humour in this chapter.

Aftershocks

Harry's friends slipped him out of the Hospital Wing and all the way to Gryffindor Tower without anyone the wiser. But it soon became apparent that the reason they'd not encountered any students in the halls was because it seemed most of them were standing in the Gryffindor Common Room waiting for news. Their arrival in the Common Room resulted in a rare occurrence during daylight hours – total silence.

That lasted for thirty seconds before they all started shouting questions about what had happened and where he'd been kidnapped off to. Harry's temper, which was never very cool even at the best of times, was rather frayed with the previous events that night and he was losing his grip on the Beast. However, relief came from an unusual quarter.

For the second time that night, the sound of canon fire filled the air and brought the whole tower to a shocked silence. As one the Lions in the room turned towards the source of the sound and was surprised to see Neville Longbottom standing on the stairs to the boys dormitory. Neville had his wand out and a thin wisp of smoke coming from the tip.

"Enough!" Neville called out. "Give the bloke some space!" Between the noise of the spell and the fact that quiet, shy Neville Longbottom was actually yelling at them, the shocked Gryffindors and visiting students from the other Houses and schools stepped back from Harry and his friends to allow them to pass.

As he passed Neville on the stairs, Harry murmured, "Thanks, mate." Neville flushed with colour with the praise.

"You'd have done more for me," Neville demurred. Harry replied by simply grasping Neville's shoulder in friendship as he passed by. Neville smiled as the rest of Harry's friends passed with their own thanks. But it was the shy smile on the face of his Yule Ball date that made Neville feel the most pleased with himself. The cute red-haired girl had only gone to the Ball out of pity and because their families were close, but now maybe she would see him as him, not an afterthought. It was a nice bonus to helping Harry, a boy that was always nice to Neville even when everyone (including Neville himself) thought he was nothing but a squib.

-I-

Once in the Gryffindor Fourth year boys' dorm, Ernie and Ron helped Harry onto his bed where he settled with relief. Padma quickly settled onto the left hand side of the bed and grasped Harry's hand. Hermione mirrored her on the other side. Daphne, Ron, and Ernie settled on Ron's bed which was next to Harry's.

"You okay, mate?" Ron asked tentatively. Harry simply nodded. It was a relief to simply lay there. The end of the emotional rollercoaster coupled with his injuries seemed to suddenly such the energy right out of him.

"You scared us," Padma said in a quiet tone. Seeing Harry pop away with Filch and then not knowing what happened to him for hours afterwards was horrible.

"Wasn't me," Harry defended himself in a drowsy voice. "T'was Tommy-boy." He barely got that out before he was sound asleep. While he slept his friends carried on a quiet conversation that was simultaneously relieved with Harry's safe return and concerned with what their friend had experienced in that graveyard.

-II-

Narcissa Malfoy waited impatiently in her sitting room for her husband to return from his summons. As a young witch and a Black, she had welcomed the Dark Lord's rise. Mudbloods were useful in their place. Servants and shop keepers had to come from somewhere. But they were entirely too uppity, especially the ones that got into Hogwarts. That great institution should be reserved for only the elite of Magical Society.

And now, as an older more experienced witch, she still agreed with the concept but disapproved of the violence that went with it under the Dark Lord. Her beloved husband stood just out of the centre of power if only that old fool would just die already. They owned Fudge outright. With both positions under their control, they would be able to bring all their wishes to be without the messy and inefficient violence. The fighting was too random and had too much chance of causing loss to one of the great bloodlines. The elder Malfoys had been concerned with the growing darkness of the Dark Mark and hoped they were wrong. Where the young Malfoy had accepted being the lieutenant of a great wizard, he now saw himself in that role and did not truly wish to step back into a subordinate position.

Her thoughts turned to her precious child, Draco. It had been hard for Draco to be conceived due to an injury Lucius received while on a raid for the Dark Lord. They knew he would be their only child and took steps to protect him all his life. Then his name came out of that vile Cup and he'd been forced to participate in the wretched Tournament. Now he slept in a bed in the Hospital Wing under a Calming Draught. He'd been raving about giant spiders and being swallowed by eels.

Narcissa was furious about the Third Task naturally but also oddly grateful to her 'black sheep' cousin. She knew Sirius and young Potter were behind the terror her Draco had gone through but they had also allowed him to get far enough through the task to make an honourable showing. She doubted it was an accident that Draco was the only Champion to be released by the eels. She was not so grateful through that they would not pay for the embarrassment at the end. Lucius always hated the elf that had been his father's personal valet. After Abraxus's death from Dragon Pox (subtly assisted by his doting daughter-in-law's potions), Lucius took great joy in torturing the elf in his father's place. Now the elf supported by Potter had obviously taken the chance to get his own back by humiliating her son. All three of them would pay for that.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the snap of Apparition announcing Lucius's return home. To her surprise instead she found another man lying in the middle of her sitting room floor that she recognized instantly. That man was holding a gash in his throat that was bleeding profusely. Only one man could access Malfoy manor directly into this room; a room that had once been his private planning room.

"My Lord?" she said in a tremulous voice.

"Potter …. beast … poison!" the Dark Lord gasped out.

Narcisa quickly pulled her wand and with a nod of permission from the Dark Lord started casting healing spells on husband's Master. It seemed he'd only received a little poison into his blood but the damage to the throat even then was significant. Whatever the poison was it was a strong one. Finally a bezoar was given to counter any lingering effects. The Dark Lord had passed out from the blood loss so she levitated him onto a nearby couch she'd transfigured into a bed fit for royalty.

The Dark Lord taken care of, Narcissa's thoughts turned to personal concerns. Where was Lucius? Was he hurt too? Killed? Taken by the Ministry? She had to know.

The Malfoy Lady walked quickly to the floo to start making calls. But then she stopped and let out a scream at the sight of the mangled, bleeding bodies that littered her entryway floor.

-III-

Harry woke the next morning to find the sun had been up for several hours. As he sat up he felt a twinge on his side where some type of magical fire spell had burnt him. Madam Pomfrey had helped a lot but it was still tender. He glanced around the room expecting to see his roommates asleep in their beds. He did, but he also laughed at what else he saw.

Ron was curled up under a blanket at the foot of his own bed. Based on the long blonde hair on the head lying on the pillow, it seemed Ron's Slytherin girlfriend had managed to claim his bed. Curled up at her feet Harry wondered if Ron's animagus form would be a dog.

To his other side, Hermione and Ernie were asleep on a conjured futon. They were spooned together and seemed to be very comfortable together. Harry wished for a camera to capture the sight. Padma was in the chair that was normally his desk chair but was currently transfigured into an easy chair like Vernon had in the living room of Privet Drive. Asleep in Neville and Dean's beds were Sirius and Remus.

Harry felt a sudden burst of warmth in his chest. This is what having a family was really like – not what he'd grown up with at the Dursleys. He quietly got up and made his way to the loo and his normal morning routine before waking his friends and family.

-IV-

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office doing paperwork. He supressed a groan as he moved one roll of parchment to his 'Out' tray - where it promptly disappeared only for another to appear in its place. Merlin, he hated paperwork.

After the death of Ariana and Gellert's leaving, all Albus wanted to do was be a teacher at Hogwarts and do magical research in his free time. He loved seeing young minds absorbing information and discovering new magic in equal measures. He hadn't wanted to fight Gellert but the Ministry said they needed his help and so he went. After the fighting stopped, all he wanted was to go back to the teaching and research that made him happy. But the people just wouldn't let him.

First it was the public cry that made him Headmaster after Dippet's retirement in 1956. Popular sentiment all but forced the Board of Governors to make their hero-professor the new Headmaster. Deputy Headmaster Wencit, who had been next in line for the position was disappointed but understood Albus had not campaigned for the job. The old Care of Magical Creatures professor stayed on for a bit to help his former subordinate learn his new job.

Then in 1962, they told him they needed him to be Britain's new representative to the ICW, a position much like that of an ambassador to the Muggle United Nations. It was only an occasional position they told him. Plus his acclaim as the Defeater of Gindelwald would guarantee a high level of respect from the other delegates. Since he had already turned down several attempts to place him as Minister of Magic, Albus acquiesced to the role of ICW Mugwump in order to quiet the demands.

To his surprise he found he enjoyed the debates and compromises that typified ICW meetings. He quickly became known as a peacemaker and arbitrator but with the magical power to back up his quiet words. Still, he was shocked when several normally conflicting nations joined to make him Chief Mugwump in 1967. Since it allowed him to successfully settle a long running argument between the American Department of Magic and the Canadian Ministry of Magic and stop a border war between the Russian Ministry and the Chinese Magical Imperium, he agreed to the position.

Between his roles as Headmaster and Supreme Mugwump, Albus felt his plate was full. He convinced himself that the sacrifice of his time was for 'the Greater Good'. His secret shame of what Gellert had done with their ideas and the tragic death of Ariana drove him to do his best in the two roles as his own personal penance. Privately he admitted it was It was only with the help of then-Deputy Headmaster Davis and a young professor named McGonagall, that Hogwarts was kept running smoothly. An assistant at the ICW managed the day to day affairs there while Albus was resident at the school.

However with the rise of Tom, Albus felt he had to actively counter his former student. No one else had the power to do so. The war was long and seemingly hopeless. No matter what the Light did, Tom's forces managed to slip away while inflicting significant damage on the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix. Then came the Prophecy. It was like a sudden burst of light in a dark room. Here was hope but it was in the form of an infant child. Would they have to wait until the child was an adult before Tom was defeated? Albus made arrangements to protect both of the Prophecy's possible candidates that he'd identified. (There was always a small, remote chance that the Prophecy referred to another child but there was nothing to be done for that.)

Then in a single night, the war was over. Albus did what he could to assist the Ministry but he'd had the Potter child to place and the mystery of what had happened to Tom to unravel. So, he'd been distracted when many of the Death Eaters bribed their way out of Azkaban – and poor Sirius had been sent there without even a trial. That was when several of his allies on the Wizengamot approached him in 1984 and demanded that if he still refused to be Minister than he should take the role of Chief Warlock to reign in some of the Ministry's excesses. They said no one else had the reputation, power, and political clout to fill the role. As Supreme Mugwump, Albus had the clout and international reputation to make a difference. So in the end he acquiesced.

So, because Albus Dumbledore had an inability to truly say 'No' when someone presented him with a situation and he had the ability to make a difference, he was stuck here doing the paperwork for what should have been three separate full-time jobs.

And he hated it. He would be 114 years old this year. Most of his old school mates were either retired or dead. Yet here he worked the jobs of three younger men and now had to deal with Tom's return and the burden placed on young Harry as well. Albus often thought about retiring from one or more of his positions but was afraid to do so. Call it hubris, but he didn't see anyone else that could step into his roles and pick-up his work. Lucius Malfoy was the leading candidate to replace him as Chief Warlock and that would be an unmitigated disaster.

Sometimes he watched the ducks on the Black Lake. He could feel for them. All calm and placid on the surface but meanwhile their webbed feet were paddling like mad underneath.

A quiver in the wards at the Gargoyle statue below announced the arrival of Harry Potter. He was not surprised to feel the signatures of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin following him. He was slightly surprised to feel Ms Granger, Ms Patil, Ms Greengrass, Mr Weasley, and Mr McMillan following along behind them.

"Come in, Mr Potter and guests," Albus called just as they reached the door to his office. Harry opened the door and stepped into the room followed by Sirius, Remus and his friends.

"Good morning all," Albus greeted them. "I am rather surprised to see you all here this morning as I only asked for Mr Potter and Mr Black."

"Well, I haven't told them everything that happened yet and I didn't want to do it twice," Harry answered as he settled into a chair. "Besides, I'll tell them everything you tell me anyhow so it seemed a time-saver all the way around." Albus didn't really like that but saw no way around it. He couldn't force Harry to keep their conversation a secret and he did need to know what had really happened in that graveyard.

"Very well, Harry. The Ministry people were rather put out by your disappearance last night. Madam Pomfrey led them to believe that she'd removed you as their time was up and you needed to rest." Harry and his friends smiled at that. Albus couldn't help the answering smile. "Yes, I was impressed with her ability to distract and confuse on your behalf. They will be back later today with their questions. But could you please tell me all that happened last night after you were abducted?" Harry shook his head no.

"First I have some questions for you, professor."

"Questions for me? Whatever for?" Albus asked in honest confusion.

"Because you've been keeping secrets from Harry, sir," Ms Granger supplied. "He doesn't think he can trust you." At Albus's shocked look, she merely shrugged an apology.

"Is that true, Mr Potter?" Albus asked. "I thought we had cleared the air about your placement with your relatives?"

"You did, professor," Harry acknowledged. "I don't like it but there it is. But you have been keeping other things from me. Like why you – or anyone – never checked on me at the Dursleys. Or what truly happened the night that my parents died."

Dumbledore sighed and absently removed his glasses. He polished them with a piece of cloth while he considered his answer.

"I did check on you several times in your first eighteen months with the Dursleys," Dumbledore confessed. "They were, as Professor McGonagall put it, the worst sort of Muggles but you were adjusting. I was concerned when I saw you were living in the cupboard under the stairs but it seemed to be by your choice. I talked to a Healer friend and he said people that suffer traumatic events where they feel powerless, such as rape or witnessing a murder, often seek sanctuary in small places that they can control. Plus I remembered Lily telling a story where you emptied out her pots and pans to spend the day hiding in the cabinet."

"I'd forgotten about that," Sirius murmured with a sad, nostalgic expression on his face. Remus simply nodded as he also remembered the incident.

"After that, I became Chief Warlock and was too busy to visit myself. I created some wards to monitor your condition and alert me if you were injured. Plus I asked Mrs Figg to move into the neighbourhood to keep an eye on things. The wards only went off once. You were six. When I arrived at the Muggle infirmary you were having your arm placed into a cast from falling out of a tree."

"I never fell out of a tree," Harry said in a quiet voice that had an angry power behind it. "Vernon lost an account and claimed his dinner was cold. He grabbed my arm and snapped the bones when he twisted it. He told the story at the hospital so he didn't get in trouble with child services. After that, Vernon and Petunia focused on verbal comments to make me feel like a freak. Dudley wasn't so restrained. He and his gang beat me regularly when we were in primary school. They called it Harry Hunting. They were the hounds and I was the fox. And you know what happens to the fox in the end. "

"Arabella – Mrs Figg – never saw anything like that," Albus responded in a pained voice. "She knew it wasn't pleasant but saw nothing abusive. Even then her concerns went away when you were nine! She said you looked well even if you were always dirty and dressed in ill-fitting clothes. It appeared to be an 'in' thing with Muggle teens so it wasn't a concern." Albus felt an odd pain in his chest as he thought about what Harry had endured. He'd known Harry wouldn't have a soft life with his mother's sister's family but never anything like this!

Harry smile in a cynical fashion. "Oh, yes. My ninth birthday. You could say after that the Durlseys and I came to … an new understanding just before then." Albus waited for Harry to explain, but instead he just asked another question.

"And the night my parents died?" Albus considered the sudden change of topics and how best to explain the unique circumstances of that night. Emotionally he was still caught up on Harry's revelations. He took a second to run through an Occlumency exercise to settle his thoughts.

"Are you familiar with what Muggles call 'The Law of Unintended Consequences, Harry?" At Harry's headshake to the negative, Dumbledore continued, "It is the understanding that sometimes our actions have a result beyond that which was expected or planned for. We don't usually understand how everything in that natural world is connected and interact. I understand that Muggles introduced rabbits in Australia for hunting purposes. Now a rabbit is a rather benign creature of no significant threat. Yet they have no natural predator in Australia and have caused substantial ecological damage there.

"Magic is a strange and wondrous thing. It can seemingly break the laws of the natural world and is impacted by the emotions and unconscious desires of those of us blessed with the ability to manipulate it. The greater, more complex the magic is, the greater the opportunity for outside influences to impact our magical workings. Some of those influences are counterintuitive and seemly illogical. In magic, 1 + 1 doesn't always equal 2. This is why astronomy is a part of our core curriculum. The positioning of the planetary bodies has a small but possibly significant influence on the power and effect of magic. But form a logical standpoint, what could the relative positioning of distant celestial bodies have on a potion being brewed here at Hogwarts. Yet it dies have a demonstrable, repeatable impact.

"The final event of the Tournament was scheduled on the Summer Solstice to provide the longest period of daylight for the task. Tom chose to act that day due to the increased life energy powers that are available on this day. Healers have long known this. In a perverse way, it also makes it a powerful day for necromantic rituals."

The room was silent as they listened to Dumbledore speak. It had been many years since Dumbledore was simply the Transfiguration Professor, but he was a gifted educator and his lectures had always been well attended. His lecture now proved he had not lost his ability to capture a classroom.

"Now, the night of Tom's attack on your parents' home was filled with unintended consequences. While today we call it Halloween, it was also once known as All Hallow's Evening or Samhain. Samhain was a Celtic holiday where the boundaries between this world and the fae are at their lowest. Tom, of course, intended to kill you. James and Lily were not his primary targets that night. Your parents intended to protect both themselves and you. Your parents knew you were the target. Theoretically, if they had simply stepped aside Tom would have let them live. This created a unique set of circumstances. Other parents had been killed protecting their families but none knowing that only their child was the target of the attack – that they would live if they merely stepped aside.

"Lily was a talented and powerful witch. Knowing that you were a target, she created a blood-based ritual to protect you from harm under certain conditions. James purposely bought her the time to enact the ritual at the cost of his own life. Her death then at Tom's hands triggered the ritual's completion. I believe it was this ritual protection that enabled you to survive the Killing Curse that was then reflected in a weaker form back to Tom. This created the first of our unintended consequences. Tom never intended to do anything but remove the obstacle that the elder Potters created. For him, killing was the most expedient choice. Instead his magical power in the Killing Curse completed a ritual that protected young Harry. But there was another unintended consequence.

"I have long wondered how Tom was able to survive the Killing Curse even in his wraith-form. It was not until after your second year that I was able to confirm his method. Without providing any unnecessary information, Tom uncovered a way of inserting parts of his soul into inanimate objects to enable to prevent his permanent death. As part of this ritual, the wizard would be required to commit a cold-blooded murder to exchange their soul for his continued existence."

"The diary," Harry breathed in disbelief.

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "That was the information that I needed. Now since the diary was destroyed and Tom's wraith remained, that tells me he had more than one. This is the Darkest of Magics and the information on it has long been repressed by the world's magical governments so it is not readily available even to me. For the last two years, I have been attempting to quietly identify and track down what other objects Tom may have used to encase parts of his soul."

Dumbledore paused a moment and allowed his audience to absorb the information he had just presented. After several moments, he continued.

"Now we come to Tom's second unintended consequence of that night. I believe Tom intended to use your murder to power one of these rituals. The power of the ritual was tied to the murder of an innocent. What could be more innocent than a toddler?" Harry felt a bit sick at that news. "After you were struck with the Killing Curse we detected signs of Dark Magic within that we could not explain. How could we? No one had ever survived the Curse before. And the Killing Curse kills without leaving a mark so where had this one come from? We had many more questions than answers. Several Unspeakable researchers have looked into this over the years and found no answer. If the Unspeakables ever revealed their work it would consist of several volumes of research and test results. But the magic was inert and it was decided it was better to leave it be than to risk making it active and killing you through own ignorance.

"I was rather surprised when my monitors here reported the disappearance of this residual Dark Magic not long before your ninth birthday. Yet, when you arrived here with the scar was greatly diminished and not the raw, red wound I'd seen when it happened. I suspect," Dumbledore emphasised his use of the word, suspect. "I suspect that the Dark Magic within the scar was the portion of Tom's soul that he'd planned to insert into another object. Living creatures are not good holders of this type of energy for a variety of reasons including the possibility of their own death. Thus, I believe it was unintended."

Dumbledore paused as he observed Harry's ashen face. He'd expected the boy to be shaken at this news. Who wouldn't be? But he also saw a horrified understanding in the boy's powerful green eyes. The Headmaster knew from past experience that Legilimency couldn't penetrate those eyes but he had to admit he was sorely tempted to try again. What was the boy thinking now?

"There was another consequence of that night," Harry commented in a distracted voice. He seemed to be staring at a spot on the wall above Albus's head. "These guys already know it." He indicated the other guests that had been sitting silently through the discussion.

"And what was that?" Albus asked.

Harry seemingly ignored the question and started relating the events of the previous night. He told of the conversation with Barty Crouch Jr and Wormtail, the arrival of the childlike Dark Lord, the ritual performed by Voldemort with the Nott family and finally the arrival of the Death Eaters.

"Tom wanted to duel me," Harry was saying still in that absent voice. "He tried to Imperio me but I threw it off. When he started casting spells at me it was obvious he was only playing with me. So I had no other choice if I wanted to live."

"And what did you do, Harry?" Albus asked in a soft voice. He was feeling a fear of that answer.

"It happened when I was almost nine, professor," Harry answered in an apparent non sequitur. "Probably when your monitors and Mrs Figg all said my life at the Dursleys got better. And they did it in a fashion." Harry lowered his eyes and met the Headmaster's gaze directly. Those eyes suddenly blazed with a power that only years of experience and his own power prevented Albus from flinching away from.

"That was the night I was attacked by a werewolf."

Albus felt his heart drop to the floor with that simple statement.

"But … but you haven't shown the normal signs of lycanthropy! " Albus protested in vain. "And you haven't been transforming on the full moon!"

Harry chuckled in a dry laugh. "When have I ever done something so normal like follow the rules? The werewolf got my ankle and in my panic my magic took me away to the roof of my school a mile away. I could feel the icy darkness of the curse moving up my leg and into my chest. Then it went up my neck into my head. But then it hit my scar. And something fought back. I was in agony for what felt like hours as the two fought back and forth. I woke up the next morning in the forest surrounded by some dead, half-eaten rabbits and five days had passed."

Harry chuckled. "Vernon was not happy when I walked in. Not sure what made him angrier, the fact I was alive, or the dirt I trailed into the house."

"Probably the being alive thing," Ernie commented; speaking for the first time since entering the room

"And what happened?" Albus asked ignoring Mr McMillian's comment.

Padma spoke up now after a glance from Harry. "Hermione and I have a theory. Since both of Harry's parents were animagi, the lycanthropy somehow bonded to that magical ability. We were just never able to explain what it was that fought back from the scar before."

"And that was …"

Albus let out a sudden yelp as Harry silently stood up and was suddenly replaced with a huge, black werewolf. He felt that sudden, unthinking panic of an animal they suddenly detects an alpha predator in the same area. But the giant werewolf simply stood there watching him.

The Headmaster's brain engaged and he could see the differences in the creature before him from a normal werewolf. It was much more beast than man for all it stood on two legs. And the eyes remained the same green that Harry shared with Lily. There was an intelligence there that said Harry remained in complete control of this new form. Albus also noted that Harry's clothes remained although they were now stretched on his massive form.

"Oh my…" He looked over to Remus. "This is who you saw last year? I'm sorry my dear boy, I thought you were pranking us." Remus grinned as Sirius and the large quasi-werewolf let out oddly similar barking laughter.

"I knew Remus was a werewolf from my first class with him," Harry said as he resumed human form. "I could 'feel' his inner wolf. It was just fun to play with him. Then when I found out he was mates with my dad, it just felt right to do it. I could almost hear dad saying, 'Do it again! Do it again!'."

The students and Sirius laughed as Remus showed why he was the mature Marauder and simply gave Harry a death glare that promised future retributions.

"I am sorry, Harry, but I have to ask … are you influenced by the moon at all? Do you think you could be infectious?" Albus asked.

"According to our observations, Harry is not influenced by the lunar cycle," Hermione reported. He can transform at any time, day or night, with no impact on his size or strength. In addition, aside for a preference for rare meats his diet does not seem to have been impacted either. We have not tested for infectiousness but the standard werewolf detection charm gives a non-standard result. As you know, the charm detects the presence of the lycanthropic curse rather than the condition itself. So Padma and I believe the curse has been mutated in some way."

"I think Padma and Hermione can add a couple of volumes for the Unspeakables, professor," Sirius quipped.

"I have seen submittals for Masteries that have less research and data than these two young ladies have collected and analysed," Remus added with an approving nod. Albus smiled at the former professor's assertion.

"I would be most interested in reading it." Albus settled back into his chair still a bit shocked by the revelations. "Now, we should discuss what should be shared with the Ministry when they arrive."

"One thing, professor," Harry interrupted. "This information is not to be shared with anyone without my or Sirius's agreement." Albus frowned at that. He knew Harry would be particularly resistant to allowing Severus this information. Albus knew off the continued animosity between the Potter heir and the potion master, but Severus was also one of THE most gifted potions and Dark Arts researchers he'd ever met. His input would be invaluable in any such effort in determining just what had happened to Harry when the werewolf attacked. He had to get Harry to understand this was more important than personal relationships.

"Harry, please understand the contribution Professor Snape could make in this situation. He is…"

"No, professor," Harry interrupted. "Severus Snape is a bully no matter what other abilities he has. If he learns of my status he'll let it slip like he did with Remus. Or it will be snide remarks in class where I can't respond without getting detentions for 'being disrespectful to a teacher'." Harry leaned forward in his chair to glare at the Headmaster.

"I swear if I hear one word from that man on this topic, I'll turn into the Beast, rip off his arm and shove it up his arse sideways!" The Marauders and the other students snickered at this except for Ms Granger. Her gasped admonishment of "Harry, language!" was barely heard by the shocked elder wizard.

"Harry, be reasonable!" Albus implored. "Whether I tell him or not, Professor Snape is sure to hear some version of what happened from his contacts amongst the Death Eaters."

"He has a point, Harry," Daphne Greengrass admitted. "I wouldn't be surprised if Malfoy didn't already have a letter from his Mummy on it."

"But that's no reason to give the greasy git the inside information," Ron countered his girlfriend. "He'd probably trade it off to get in better with 'em anyhow."

"What Ron said," Ernie contributed, "but with proper grammar."

"The Death Eaters know something happened and attacked them, but now what," Padma added. "Logically, solid, factual information leaked to them could allow them to find a way to hurt Harry. As it stands they are left with the standard werewolf weaknesses to work with at this point."

Albus realized he would not win on this point. It pained him when people couldn't set aside their personal differences for the Greater Good. He wasn't blind to Severus's personality shortfalls but the man was a researcher of the first order and a highly capable wizard. Maybe it was for the best to let this topic lie and come back to it at another point when tempers were not so high.

"Very well," the Headmaster conceded. "I shall not share Mr Potter's condition without your permission. Now, shall we discuss what to share with the Ministry?"

-VI-

In the end, the story they gave the Ministry was based on the Lovegood family motto. "If you can't lead them with logic, baffle them with bullshit."

Harry provided a memory of his abduction to an audience that included Minister Fudge, Madam Bones, some senior Aurors, a couple of Unspeakables in their cloaks, the Hogwarts senior staff, and an odd toad-like lady in hideous pink robes. The memory ran from when 'Finch' approached him until the start of the fight in the graveyard. He ended the memory just when the Death Eater interfered with the 'duel' between Harry and Voldemort. This lead the viewers to believe that he'd then been knocked out. The memory resumed with a human Harry approaching the village and being found by Gippy the House-Elf.

After the memory was over, Madam Bones said, "With the help of Gippy the House-Elf, I sent a mixed squad of Aurors and Unspeakables to the location in question. There were signs of a fight that matched what was seen in this memory. However, there were also signs that some attempt had been made to sanitize the crime scene. We found curse burns on the grounds, a significant amount of blood, and a few dropped wands. No bodies were found." Hearing that, Harry was glad he'd left rather than to try to finish off the wounded Death Eaters. He'd been in no condition to fight a prepared opponent at that point.

An Unspeakable stepped forward. "The Unspeakables found the area used in the memory ritual to have shown the signs expected in such a powerful necromantic ritual. Additionally, Gringotts has already submitted the notice of the extinction of the Noble House of Nott."

"And what was it that murdered those men?" the pink toad lady demanded. "It had to be some kind of Dark Creature to do that to wizards!" Harry supressed his desire to ask how a creature that killed Dark Wizards was a Dark Creature.

"Those wizards were Death Eaters!" Susan's aunt retorted. "Their dragon dung stories of being under the Imperious Curse are so much fairy dust after seeing the respond to his summons after all this time! Either that or they have the weakest will in the history of magic!" Harry wanted to cheer her on.

"I believe we are done with Mr Potter for now?" Dumbledore asked in a tone that indicated it wasn't really a question.

"What? Oh, yes. Thank you Mr Potter for your part in helping this investigation," Madam Bones said giving Harry a dismissive wave. Fudge was too busy trying to spin this in his head to even notice.

Harry gave the witch a short nod of thanks and left the room. Waiting outside were the Marauders and his friends.

"They're running scared," Harry announced. "I don't think I managed to kill Tom so it's only a matter of time before he comes back. We need to be ready."

A/N: Dumbledore is commonly seen as "the great manipulator" in fanfiction. I wanted to present an alternative view for his actions. An old man, tired and worn-down, but afraid to put down his burden because he sees the wolves waiting. Call it a "saving people thing".