Harry, Dave and Ragnok entered the lobby of Gringotts, after stopping and warning certain goblins of the possible impending confrontation. They had half a dozen goblin guards already to defend them if necessary, not that Dave or Ragnok for that matter weren't capable of defending themselves. However, Dave at least, didn't want to reveal himself too much in front of the customers of the bank, as he would rather keep the fact that he wasn't human among just Harry and the goblins.
Harry looked around and spotted an old wizard with a long beard standing off to one side of the lobby and the way Dave and Ragnok both stiffened he knew that this was Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him from the pool as he and granddad had studied many things including who would be adversaries or allies.
Dumbledore was looking casually around and Harry had no trouble recognizing that the man was looking for him. When Dumbledore finally spotted him in the company of a goblin and a man he did not recognize Dumbledore headed in his direction.
"Harry..." Dumbledore began.
"Did I give you permission to call me, Harry?" Harry demanded of the older man, standing tall and proud and looking every inch a lord. Harry did his best to look haughty. "How dare you address me so familiarly, when you have not been giving leave to do so. Who are you to call me Harry when I have never met you before in my life, much less given you permission to call me by my first name."
Dumbledore stared at Harry for a moment, this haughty Harry was not what he had been expecting because after all the boy was only 10 years old and not yet fully grown into his power and not yet in control of the Potter fortune.
Dave smirked a little at Dumbledore expression, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
"You haven't even bothered to introduce yourself, which is rude," Harry continued.
Dumbledore didn't change expression by hair, but he knew that Harry was right. He had been so glad to see Harry healthy and apparently whole that he had just called his name forgetting that Harry had never met him, except as a baby and he would hardly remember that encounter where he had bounced a much younger Harry on his knee as he carried on a conversation with James and Lily.
"I sincerely apologize for my gaff as I forgot you haven't met me, except when you were only a few months old," Dumbledore said, "when I came by to see your parents James and Lily Potter. Let me introduce myself then, I am Albus Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Ah, so you are the one that sealed my parents wills and and placed me with the Dursley family," Harry said his expression turning even more haughty.
"The conference room is ready, my lord," Ragnok told Harry respectfully bowing slightly. "Would you care to continue this conversation in private?"
"Yes, thank you very much, Ragnok," Harry said and Dumbledore looked at Harry his expression astonished as it was rather strange to see a young boy address the leader of the goblin nation by his first name and the goblin not object. "Your courtesy is very much appreciated."
Ragnok bowed again and led the small group towards one of the small conference rooms.
As soon as they into the conference room and the door was shut Harry had Dumbledore backed into a wall in a flash.
"Now, you listen to me, old man. You left me in an abusive environment and didn't give me as much courtesy as you would a stray pet. I have no doubt that I either would have runaway and lived on the street rather than put up with the Dursleys abuse before too much longer and likely died there or killed myself just to get away from them. You took it upon yourself to name yourself my guardian and yet you didn't bother to fulfill the responsibility that the role requires.
"Thanks to you, I was mentally, emotionally and physically abused from the day you left me on their doorstep without even bothering to knock on the door to see if they wanted take me in. You never bothered to check to see if they were suitable guardians. You did this in November no less, which meant the weather was likely freezing when you left me outside. Perhaps, you didn't believe that because they were Muggles that they deserved what is known as common courtesy, the courtesy of you coming in and talking to them, like intelligent people.
"If granddad hadn't somehow located me I have no doubt that I would be a totally different boy than I was and only if I wasn't dead. I will give you the courtesy of trying to explain your actions, but if I'm not happy then you and I will be parting ways. You better not just give me excuses either, as it had better be the truth as I'll know if you lie."
"I thought of the time it was the best place for you," Dumbledore tried and Harry simply glared at him.
"Alright, fine, I can accept that, but you never bothered to check up on me to make sure I was being treated alright, instead of abused and that is a mistake that you will be paying for the rest of your life. Don't think I'm going to forgive you for your mistakes unless I believe you are sincerely sorry for them and even then I might not be able to forgive you.
"If you know what damage Vernon in particular caused me..." Harry closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them once more. "Well, that doesn't matter really, but I will carry the scars of his constant beatings for the rest of my life. If there is anything granddad has taught me it's not to take people like you at face value, so don't even try to manipulate me, like I know you're famous for. I will be no one's tool I will not follow anyone blindly, just because of their reputation."
"You better pray that it was a genuine error made out of overconfidence in people or you won't like what I'd do to you," Dave finally said speaking for the first time. "You better convince me and my grandson that you're sincerely sorry for your actions or I will take Harry and disappear and you'll never be able to locate him. It's bad enough that my daughter and son-in-law took your advice and went under the Fidelius Charm only to be killed less than a week later. If they had followed my advice in the first place they would still be with us."
"It wasn't a charm that was it fault granddad, but their Secret-Keeper," Harry said.
"How can you be Harry's grandfather?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm sure you already know that Lily was not the Evanses true daughter. They loved her certainly and looked after her like any parent would their child, but she was not truly theirs. It was a deception I admit, but it was mostly just to stop you or anybody else from meddling in affairs that were not others to interfere in. You are a known meddler in other's lives and you usually end up making things worse instead of better. Let me tell you, if I let my grandson come to Hogwarts you will not be his guardian, because I don't trust you any farther than I do a giant. You will try to use him for your own ends, which I'm sure was your purpose for placing him with the Dursleys."
"No, I just wanted to protect him from the Death Eaters, because even though Voldemort was gone there was still plenty of his followers out there," Dumbledore protested.
"If that is the case, you sure did have lousy judgment when you placed him with the Dursleys," Dave said. "To be a child's guardian there're certain responsibilities attached to the position and you didn't fulfill a single one. I wouldn't trust you with the responsibility of a pet much less my grandson. You have to much on your plate to be the guardian of any child much less one as important as Harry. I will not have my grandson used for whatever scheme you're cooking up."
"Harry must come to Hogwarts," Dumbledore commanded, as if it was already a forgone conclusion.
"Why? He'd be much safer and certainly happier with me, then in a school full of rabid fans of the famous Boy Who Lived. Children who will try to befriend him because of his fame instead of seeing him as just Harry. Normally, that kind of fame would go to any child's head, but thanks in part to you leaving him with the Dursleys he wants nothing to do with the Boy Who Lived nonsense. I will not have my grandson bullied or attacked, just because certain people want him out of the way in case Voldemort returns."
"Who are you?" Dumbledore suddenly demanded rising from his chair with a fierce expression on his face, while Dave sat unconcerned with the headmaster's anger. "How can you know that Voldemort might return."
"It's only logical. If he was truly gone then you wouldn't have so much interest in my grandson," Dave said. Dave stood seemingly reaching a decision and suddenly his appearance changed back to normal. His rounded ears disappeared to become pointed, his cheekbones became sharper and his chin a little bit more prominent. His black hair lengthened until it reached his shoulders, the shape of his eyes became rather slanted and turned silver while he suddenly had a silver circlet on his head that settled right above his pointed ears.
Dumbledore nearly stopped breathing for before him was a person out of legend one of the sídh who were supposed to steal children who were abused from their families. It was said that the sídhe loved children and didn't like to see any that were abused no matter the reason. If Harry really was the grandson of one of them that would make him half Seelie. It was then that Dumbledore knew there would be no controlling the Boy Who Lived for this Dave would never allow him to, nor would Harry himself.
No, Dave would be keeping a very close eye on his grandson to make sure he was happy. If he tried anything and Dave found out he was sure that Harry would be taken back to Tír na nÓg where it was said that the sídhe dwelled. It was also called the land of eternal youth or Underhill. Harry could live there forever until he was long dead and buried and Voldemort had taken over the world as Dumbledore had no doubt it would happen, sometime in the future.
"I am Dáithí Muireadhaigh and the woman you knew as Lily Evans was actually Sosanna Muireadhaigh my daughter. Why she didn't tell me about the threat to her and James's life I do not know, but I did find out I had a grandson, which she never had a chance to tell me or perhaps she was prevented. It took me several years to locate him, but I did so. I immediately figured that someone had placed him with my daughter's fake sister Petunia. It just took me awhile to discover Petunia's married name. When I finally located my grandson what I discovered did not please me Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."
Dumbledore went white at the use of his full name in that unforgiving tone of voice. There was absolutely no forgiveness on the sídhe face, but then, Dumbledore knew from legends that the elven people were very fond of children and considering Harry was the grandson of one of them he did not expect to be forgiven at all for leaving him with the Dursleys where he had been abused. Also, the fact, that the sídh daughter had died due partly to him he now knew, as he had been the one that insisted that they go under Fidelius Charm. Of course, he was well aware that the Potters had chosen the wrong Secret-Keeper so that mistake was not all his, but that did not mean he would be forgiven for his part in it.
"My grandson was wearing clothes that were much too big for him as they were the Dursleys son Dudley who was heavily overweight even five years ago. He was working out in the garden with no gloves or anything to protect his hands and in all the time I was there and no one appeared to offer him water or anything to eat and this was the middle of summer when it was blazing hot. They barely fed him and locked him in a cupboard as that was his bedroom before I took him away. He was so malnourished that his bones were almost sticking through his skin and he has revealed to me over the last few years that he barely got scraps from their plates after they were done, even when he cooked the meal. A four and five year old cooking! Considering that Vernon at least was bigger than a house when I saw him from a distance, you can imagine why there wasn't much food left. Unfortunately, Dudley appears to take after his father in that way. Vernon beat him within an inch of his life anytime he displayed accidental magic. Hell! Dursley beat him just for getting better grades then Dudley who's not exactly the brightest, though he could be a decent student if he was encouraged in the right way. Dudley was allowed to beat on him at every possible opportunity. If you consider that a healthy environment then you need to get your sanity checked, because you've got to be going senile at the very least. I'd rather believe that then that you are totally evil."
"I had no idea that they would be so cruel, not until after Harry disappeared," Dumbledore admitted, looking sickened at the report, though he had already known about the abuse from the memory of the two adult Dursleys. He hung his head in shame. "I knew that Lily and Petunia, who I thought was her sister, didn't get along, but I thought surely that Petunia wouldn't take out that dislike on a child, one who I thought was related by blood."
"You apparently don't know very much about human nature and as old and intelligent as you are that makes no sense," Dave said, looking at him expressionless for Dumbledore's words had the ring of truth to them. "Siblings hate each other all the time, sometimes for a good reason, sometimes not. You didn't take into account that even if Petunia and my daughter had been related that Petunia still likely would've hated her sister for having magic while she did not.
"Humans are often jealous when somebody has something that they want more than anything, whether that's an ability like being able to play the flute or an object of some kind. If that jealousy is not eradicated then it can become so deeply entrenched that that person become jealous not only of the person, but also anybody related to them like their children. This is especially true if any younglings happen to have that same ability that they want so badly. When you're jealous of someone or something you often take out that jealousy on anything that's related including the baby that you left on the Dursleys doorstep at the beginning of November when it was freezing out. Harry could very well have died before he was discovered. Since my daughter was dead Petunia had no one to release her feelings onto except a tiny defenseless baby that you put into that situation. I'm sure that my daughter and her husband named a guardian for my grandson but since you sealed their will illegally, we don't know who that guardian is."
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Ragnok rose to answer it knowing that it must be important as nobody that worked at the bank would disturb them unless it was.
Ragknok took the documents that the goblin at the door handed him and then handed them to Harry once he saw who they were for. Harry slowly went through them until he discovered the will that he his granddad and Ragnok had been discussing earlier.
"I had forgotten that I had asked one of the goblins to get the important documents from the Potter vault. One of those should be the will that we were just discussing," Ragnok explained calmly while studying Dumbledore.
"Why don't you read the will first," Dave suggested also watching Dumbledore's reaction to that suggestion.
Harry separated the proper document from the stack of papers and broke the seal.
"This is the last will and testament of James Charlus and Lily Maria Potter," Harry read. "We are truly sorry that we won't be around the raise you Harry, but know that we died for a good cause and that was to protect you, our only child. Just know son that we love you more than anything in the world and we are truly sorry that if this will is being read then we have passed on. Now onto the more important stuff and that is who we have named a guardian for you."
Harry read the entire thing out loud as anybody listened when he got to the bottom paragraph Harry read it silently and then when he looked up his eyes were filled with a deep loathing as he stared at Dumbledore who looked as if he had been struck.
"What does it say grandson?" Dave asked quietly knowing that there was a reason that his grandson was staring at Dumbledore with such a hate filled gaze.
"It says that under no circumstances is our son to be left with those waste of space the Dursley family," Harry said repeating word for word what his mother had written. "It is triple underlined and yet the headmaster in all his vaunted wisdom never bothered to read the document to know that and even if he had he probably still would've placed me there, thinking he knew best. It even gives several reasons why it is not a good idea and my parents would rather me have been placed in an orphanage then with Vernon and Petunia Dursley."
Dumbledore winced when Harry had looked at him with such utter loathing and winced again when the other two people in the room also looked at him as if they wanted to kill him where he sat.
"It also says that my guardians ought to be Frank and Alice Longbottom or if that's not possible my Godfather Sirius Black or someone called Amelia Bones. These are all people that my parents trusted to look after me properly and yet thanks to an old man that meddles in things that he has no right to, I was taken to the last place I should have gone," Harry said, in a nearly emotionless tone.
"I felt the blood connection would protect you from Voldemort's followers," Dumbledore said. "I thought surely Petunia would love you because you were her younger sister's child, her nephew. I had no idea that Lily had only been taken in by the Evanses and that there was no blood relation."
"Even if there had been, as I've already explained there are no guarantees that she would have acted differently. In fact, from what I picked up from her mind, she would've reacted the same, even if there had been a true sibling relationship," Dave said. "Petunia Dursley is really a piece of work and she is one of the few people I've met over the centuries that should never have procreated at all and her husband falls squarely into the same category."
Dumbledore slowly nodded, because he had come to that conclusion as well after he had read her mind after Harry had disappeared, though at least now he knew that it had been Harry's grandfather who had taken him away.
"You set me on a stranger's doorstep, my relatives or not and expected the people inside the house to love me, which is just insane or maybe that's just your arrogance at work. I mean really headmaster, you are not naïve or stupid and should know that relatives don't always love each other. You didn't even knock on the door and politely inquire if they would be willing to take me in, just left them a note saying that they were my only blood relatives and that they had to take me in without giving them a choice in the matter.
"Did you bother to find out what state their finances were in? What kind of financial restrictions you forced them to work under by placing another baby in a household of a young family where the father had only had a job for a few years and so money was no doubt incredibly tight, only made tighter by the meddling of an old man who didn't think of anything, except placing me in the last place I should've gone," Harry said looking at Dumbledore with utter contempt.
"Hell, headmaster, you gave the Dursleys any number of reasons to resent the hell out of me, not that there wasn't a lot of resentment and hate there at least on Petunia Dursley's part and perhaps, Vernon just followed along with his wife's feelings. You only made it worse because of your meddling, so it's no wonder they took out their anger and frustrations on me."
"I know now I was wrong," Dumbledore admitted, which wasn't easy for him. "At the time I was only thinking about protecting you from the remaining Death Eaters. My intentions were good..."
"You know what they say about the road to hell," Dave interrupted.
Dave had been proud of the way that his grandson was handling the meddling headmaster, but he just had to speak up
"That it is paved with good intentions and walled and roofed with them too," Harry supplied while staring at Dumbledore. "Your intentions might've been good headmaster, but your execution was crap, as you should have followed through with your responsibilities no matter how busy you were. It's obvious to everyone in this room that you are too busy to be the guardian of any child, especially since there were others named for the role, ones I have no doubt would've taken their responsibility seriously and raised me the way my parents wanted. It mentions that the Longbottoms have a son Neville and I would loved a brother growing up. When a child complements suicide then something is seriously wrong headmaster and what would you have done if all you found when you finally decided it was time to retrieve me was the fact that I had died years ago due to the abuse I suffered?"
Dumbledore gulped at that going stark white, as when Harry had mentioned that he had been thinking about suicide doing his initial rant he hadn't actually thought the boy was serious, but now there was a certain look in Harry's green eyes that told the headmaster that indeed the boy would have gone through with it, because his home life was so bad. While he had been worried about the boy for the last five years he was actually glad that Harry's grandfather had rescued him before he had done so. Having the Boy Who Lived commit suicide would have seen him chased out of England and possibly killed by a mob of angry witches and wizards when they heard who was responsible for the death of their hero. The boy who had saved them from enslavement by an evil dictator that would have destroyed the world eventually and not just the magical communities. He also had no doubt that Harry's grandfather would have tracked him down and killed him with no mercy at all if Harry had actually died, as it wouldn't have taken him any time to discover who had placed his grandson in such a situation that he felt that death was the better option.
He was going to have to reevaluate things now as he had to find a way for Harry to face Voldemort and die so that the Dark Lord could finally be killed. Unfortunately, the boy had a Horcrux in his head and there was no way to permanently defeat Voldemort until it was gone and the only way to to do that to someone living was to kill the person or animal it had possessed.
"Don't think I don't know what you're contemplating," Dave said, as he looked at Dumbledore his face unreadable, but his silver eyes sparking with fury. "I am centuries older than you will ever be and I might not be able to read your thoughts due to your shields, but I can certainly read your body language and expression. You're thinking about how Harry has a Horcrux in his scar and that he must die in order for Voldemort to be defeated. You believe that just because you don't know something there is no one that could possibly know of a way to remove something so evil from a living object without killing it. You're trying to figure out a way to manipulate me and Harry into a situation where he at least is killed."
Dumbledore couldn't conceal his expression of utter astonishment and Dave simply laughed harshly at him with no amusement in his expression or tone at all.
"Please! You might be able to conceal your thoughts, but I've been reading body language and facial expressions longer then you've been alive and body language at least is a very hard thing to control. Do you really think I would've left such an evil thing in my grandson? It has been gone for sometime now and if you had bothered to look at his scar you would have seen that it is nearly invisible."
Dave didn't lie he just didn't tell Dumbledore the whole truth and that was the Horcrux had only been gone for a few months, because all that mattered was that it was gone and would no longer be part of his grandson.
"You've been planning his whole life for him and I'm sure you would've led him to his death through manipulation instead of just giving him the honest truth. That's what you do manipulate people, so they do what you want and you make them think it's the right thing to do, even when it breaks the law in someway. Is it any wonder, that I don't want my grandson to come to Hogwarts where you're the headmaster? Did you even bother to check with other species to see it there was a solution. With the goblins? The elves? The dwarves? To see if they had a way to remove it without killing the person in question?"
When Dumbledore's expression said he had not considered that Dave simply gave him a look so full of contempt that Dumbledore felt like a small boy who had been caught sticking his hand in the cookie jar.
"That's what I thought," Dave said with a contemptuous look. "You are so sure that if you don't know of a way to do something that no one else does either, so you were willing to lead my grandson to his death instead of looking for solutions outside of the human wizarding world. I bet you that you never even bothered to look for a solution in other countries to see if there was anything that could help my grandson and that you didn't go outside this country to try to find a solution. You think the British wizarding community must have a solution to every little problem but what you likely don't realize is that they're so far behind the times it's surprising that they haven't stagnated to the point that they have simply disappeared into the pages of history."
"I did check a few other countries when I had time," Dumbledore tried to protest.
"Which would have been minimal due to your position as head of the Wizengamot, your position as headmaster and your position with the International Federation of Wizards," Dave shot back contemptuously. "You better be glad that I just don't kill you where you sit Albus Dumbledore, because you might believe that you're working for the greater good, but all I see is an old man with too much on his plate that he can't concentrate on the really important things. You should know from the literature that you don't harm a child and have one of the sídh hear about it, particularly if that child is related to one of them. Had Harry to come to more harm due to your machinations you would be greeting your ancestors right now and you never would have seen me coming. Be glad I'm not going to tell his grandmother of your stupidity or you would be dead. Lily, as you knew her, got her temper from her mother."
Dumbledore gulped again knowing that the sídh was very serious and that he would be dead and greeting not only the Potters, but also all his ancestors including his father, his mother and sister. He knew that James, Lily and his sister at least would be very disappointed in him and also his mother and likely his father as well. He had no doubt that Lily would torture him for a very long time for what he had done to her son, even if that was by proxy. James would only encourage her and also give her ideas. Lily had been very inventive when it came to curses and he now knew that was at least partly the Seelie blood, because she had often seemed to do things that would have been very hard at the least if not impossible for most other witches and wizards. She had been particularly apt at Charms and Potions. She could do things with Charms in particular that even Professor Flitwick could not. Of course, Dumbledore was well aware that a lot of Lily's talent had to do with the fact that she had a lot of raw talent that just needed to be refined, still, he was sure certain things were made easier due to the Seelie magic that flowed in her veins.
"As it is, we've had several long talks about a person's self worth, because he had been given the impression that we shouldn't do anything for him, shouldn't spend anymore time than necessary with him other then to give him instructions like he was a servant or a slave. My wife shouldn't bake cookies or other food for him; because he was worthless, a freak of nature that should just be left alone. "He thought that he had to pay for his upkeep by doing chores, as that's what he had been told by the Dursleys, who worked him so hard that he didn't have any time to just be a child. No, instead he was a slave. He wasn't allowed to have any friends as Dudley, who was already turning into a burgeoning bully, started beating up any child that tried to befriend him until they all left him alone for fear of his fists. Now tell me headmaster does that sound like a good environment for a child to be in?"
"No, it doesn't," Dumbledore said closing his eyes briefly, as he contemplated what the sídh had told him.
"This is what you get when you don't investigate properly and just assume that people will do the right thing," Dave voice interrupted Dumbledore's contemplation.
"Minerva was against me leaving Harry with the Dursleys, as she had watching them in her Animagus form all day and yet I didn't listen to her. I was so sure I was doing the right thing in order to protect Harry from those that would harm him. When she learns of this I'm going to be the center of her temper, which is not something I like to think about, but I deserve it and I know it. Minerva McGonagall has quite a temper on her, but then, she's Scottish and a lot of Scottish do, as they're a tough race. I won't be surprised if she hexes me into oblivion."
Dave smirked briefly at that. It was nice to know that Dumbledore could admit that he had been wrong, but that didn't mean that he was forgiven, just that they would be able to work together without him wanting to kill the old man for his incredible level of hubris. He didn't think he'd ever truly trust Dumbledore, so he'd be keeping a close eye on him, but at least the headmaster could admit that he had been wrong to place his grandson with the Dursley family and that was a good thing.
"You'll have to take your medicine like a good boy," Dave smirked. "Just because I am one of the eternally young doesn't mean that I haven't been taught a lesson every once in awhile when I get on my high horse and refuse to listen to others."
Dumbledore winced again and Dave added, "You don't have anyone to keep you on the straight and narrow, which is part of your problem, as you seem to believe that you could never be wrong and I'm sure it's thrown you that you were so very wrong in this case and you're probably wondering what other mistakes you've made. "Yes, you're clever and intelligent, a good problem solver, but different people think in different ways and whatever solution you think of might not be the right one, yet you never bothered to consult with other people to see if they had other ideas whether better or not. This is a very poor quality in a leader of light or any type of leader, because your mistakes keep getting bigger and bigger until finally it comes to a head, even if that's not for many years. "No man is an island headmaster and he needs to listen to others opinions instead of trying to do everything himself. Every action affects somebody else, sometimes a lot of someone else's. How many peoples lives have you affected negatively over the years, because you didn't think about your actions before you did them?"
"Countless," Dumbledore whispered looking as white as a sheet.
"It's not all negative though, as I'm sure you've done a lot of good to," Dave said trying to be encouraging, as he didn't want to shatter the old man's self esteem or confidence completely, just point out a few hard facts so that perhaps he could learn from them, so he could do better in the future.
"Granddad," Harry said suddenly, as he came to stand at Dave side.
"What is it Harry?" Dave asked immediately seeing the serious expression on his grandson's face. Dave had been keeping an eye on his grandson, but he had seemed content to go through his parents papers that had been in the Potter vault, but he must've discovered something that had upset him if his expression was anything to go by.
"Remember my Godfather Sirius Black being mentioned in my parents will as my guardian?" When Dave nodded Harry continued without pause. "Well, there is a letter from both my parents that said that their Secret-Keeper was not Sirius Black, but a Peter Pettigrew."
Dave glanced at Dumbledore to see that he had gone even whiter than previously and knew that what he and Harry were about to learn would not be good.
"Out with it," Dave demanded.
Dumbledore immediately told the story of how it had been believed that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters and how he was thrown in Azkaban prison without even being given the benefit of a trial.
"And you call yourselves civilized," Harry roared so angry that he couldn't even see straight. In fact, he was so angry that he was having trouble controlling his magic so that loose objects rose from their positions as if in a strong wind and then the table among other things rattled in their places.
Ragnok watched this not at all fearing for his life, even as objects rose in the air around him or rattled in their places. It might not be obvious, but Harry had more control than most others at his age and it was clear that the effects were only meant to frighten the headmaster not harm anyone in the room. He gestured at the guards that everything was okay when they came rushing into the room and indicated for them to stand on either side of the door.
"You will get my godfather a trial no matter how you do so as you are head of the Wizengamot. In fact, you should have done so immediately whether or not you believed him to be guilty. You and those idiots in the government went on hearsay instead of doing a proper investigation and when you can throw and innocent man in prison I hate to think of what would happen to someone like me who is bound to gain powerful enemies. Do you know that in America it's innocent until proven guilty headmaster?"
When Dumbledore nodded looking deeply ashamed Harry continued, "Well, it seems to be the exact opposite here, though I have no doubt that there were certain people that wanted him out of the way. Still, it astonishes me that you did nothing and there are many things I have no doubt you could have done. I mean you have two of the most powerful seats in the government and yet you just sat back and did nothing to ease a possible innocent man's plight. "You could have used your contacts to make sure that Black got a trial at least, which would've been the proper thing to do and yet you did nothing. An innocent man has spent about eight years in prison for a crime he never committed if my parents letter is at all accurate and I'm sure he's been wondering for all this time when he was going to get a trial that would exonerate him. I could have grown up with my godfather as I have no doubt I would've been happy with him if both my mother and father named him as my secondary guardian, if the Longbottoms weren't available."
"It was just assumed that he had somehow turned his coat all because nearly all Blacks throughout history have supported countless Dark Lords. He is from a very dark pureblooded family and only three people in recent decades have turned out decently including your Godfather apparently," Dumbledore tried only to have both Harry and his grandfather glare at him.
"Don't you see the wrong of that statement? Instead of getting him a trial to see if he was actually guilty he was thrown into that hellhole, just because most of his family has been as black as their name for centuries. It was simply 'assumed' he was too instead of doing a proper investigation," Harry said emphasizing assumed.
"Even you should be able to see that's a justification not a real reason, as to why you did nothing. I doubt he was even properly questioned, probably just thrown into prison without being interrogated, much less given a trial that every British citizen deserves. Tell me again granddad why I want anything to do with the very backwards British wizarding society?
"Explain to me why I shouldn't just go back home with you to Tír na nÓg and never come back into this world until people like Dumbledore, so sure he's doing the right thing, that he leaves an innocent man to rot in prison and also leaves a child in an abusive home, have ceased to exist? A man who had all this power to at least get a possibly innocent man a trial and whether or not he thought he was guilty that's exactly what he should've done regardless. I can see Dumbledore's reasoning now.
"Let's not get Sirius a trial, as he would have automatic custody of Harry and I've already made the decision to leave him with his relatives. Sirius, of course, won't agree, as he actually wants what's best for the brat, but I need him beaten down so he listen to me and dies like a good little weapon like he's supposed to."
Dumbledore protested but Harry simply glared at him until he fell silent.
"I don't really care if that's what you thought headmaster. I couldn't give a damn actually," Harry said. "What I care about is you breaking the law to suite your own purposes. You had no right to take such actions, but you are arrogant enough to assume that you have the right to do so and probably saw getting my godfather out of the way as ideal, because he wouldn't be able to protest."
"You won't abandon the people, because that will never happen, as even some sídhe are just as arrogant and thoughtless as humans," Dave told his grandson gently. "You could very well do what you were just contemplating, but you would feel guilty if you did so as innocent people will lose their lives to this maniac, including countless children. Yes, there are some people in powerful positions that have used that power in the wrong way, like to fulfill their own selfish agendas, but what about all the innocents that would suffer if Voldemort isn't permanently defeated? Dumbledore is misguided and so sure that his ideas and plans are right that he didn't bother to consult with anybody else never thinking that he could be wrong or that he could be doing to innocent people.
"That's arrogance and pride, but that doesn't make him automatically evil, just arrogant and sure of his superior intelligence. Yes, he was showing an incredible level of hubris, but he realizes now that he was wrong in a lot of ways and hopefully, that will make him a better leader in the future.
"You can't be a sentient species and not make mistakes Harry and even if most times those mistakes are easily correctible sometimes they're not. I've made plenty of mistakes in my time, though I did my best to correct them once I realized it. It is only those who cannot admit that they can make mistakes that you need to watch out for, because so long as you can admit that you're only human and you at least try to correct the mistakes you made then that is a good way to live.
"We also must think about the fact that Dumbledore is a very old man as was born in the last century and I doubt he's taken the time to walk out among regular people to see how things have changed in all that time. Human society has advanced a great deal from the time when he was a young man while the wizarding society, at least here in Britain is practically the same, because they don't want to change. I'm actually surprised they haven't stagnated completely and a large portion of the populace hasn't disappeared into other countries, ones that are more progressive.
"If it doesn't happen now I will be surprised if it doesn't happen sometime in the next few centuries, because society must grow and change in order to remain relevant to an advancing world. You with the last name of Potter could be one of those people that helps society to advance into the 21st century instead of being stuck in the 17th."
"I suppose," Harry said finally after truly thinking about everything his grandfather had said.
"Your grandfather on the Potter side had great influence on the Wizengamot," Dumbledore who had been listening said suddenly. "Your father never had a chance to take his seat because of the times, but I'm sure he also would have been a great influence if he had lived. The Potters have a hereditary seat and so even though you're a half blood they cannot deny you taking it."
"Now, there is one thing that needs to change right there," Harry snorted in obvious contempt. "I've studied British magical history and I know very well it's the purebloods that hold the power while they create discriminatory laws against anyone that doesn't have the proper bloodlines. That is one reason right there that your society is so far behind the times, because the purebloods don't want anything new and strange that they can't understand and is likely Muggle in origin to become common place in society. They don't want Muggle-born or even most half-bloods to have a voice in the laws, because then things would change and they would lose a grip on power, even if it's only a little bit at a time. I'm sure they'll try their best to undermine me once I do take my seat and when they don't succeed likely try to assassinate me."
Dumbledore had to admit that young Harry was correct. It was the purebloods that ran the government and also most people who owned businesses were also pureblooded. Dumbledore hadn't realized until Harry had pointed it out that there were very few half-bloods and even fewer Muggle-borns that actually worked within the Ministry of Magic and there were definitely no Muggle-borns on the Wizengamot and very few half-bloods. He could only think of two right off the top of his head actually.
Dumbledore also had to admit that Harry and his grandfather were correct that he hadn't bothered to get Sirius a trial, which everybody guilty or not deserved. Even all the Death Eaters got trials, but not Sirius Black. He had done the man a grave injustice and Harry an even greater one. All he could do was try his best to regain Harry and Sirius's trust once the older man was free, but only if he wasn't completely insane from his time in Azkaban.
Yes, times had been rather busy back then as the the last of the Death Eaters were mopped up, but if Harry was right it was possible Sirius had never even been questioned just thrown into Azkaban. Dumbledore could see a large amount of bribery money changing hands in order to make sure it happened that way. Dumbledore suspected the likely candidate for that move being Lucius Malfoy. He might've managed to slither his way back into society but that didn't make him any less a Death Eater, something that Dumbledore had no doubt he was and the Malfoys also had a considerable amount of gold that was used to bribe the Minister for whatever cause they wanted him to support.
"I'll do my best," Dumbledore finally said and Dave nodded at him in respect, the first such gesture that he had granted the headmaster. "It's not going to be easy however, because there are many people that will not want to see Sirius free. I suspect that Lucius Malfoy bribed Cornelius Fudge, who is the Minister of Magic, to not give him a trial and if not him someone else that's a Death Eater that managed to slither their way back out into society claiming to be under the Imperius Curse. However, Lucius Malfoy gets my vote unless proven otherwise, because he's very close to Fudge and I suspect bribes him to get laws passed, ones that suits his purposes. As I'm sure you can guess, that's mainly ones that give purebloods even more power and half-bloods and Muggle-borns even fewer rights. I've never been able to prove it, so I've never been to do anything about him.
"What do you think Fudge would do if I said good things about him and his administration?" Harry asked with a very devious look.
"Well, considering how popular you are, even though you are only ten and you haven't been ever since you supposedly took out the Dark Lord, Fudge's numbers would go through the roof as people would vote for him, because you said he was a good minister. I believe that Fudge would do almost anything you wanted to retain that golden endorsement including getting your godfather a trial," Dumbledore said blinking at the deviousness of the plan.
Harry's grandfather had apparently taught his grandson how to lie without really lying at all if it was for a good cause. Fudge could start to be a real Minister of Magic or at least that was likely if Harry kept giving him those golden endorsements that made his poll numbers rise. Dumbledore could see Fudge doing almost anything Harry wanted to retain his support.
"Well then, you set up a meeting with him and don't tell him the reason why and I'll be there," Harry promised.
"I'll also be coming to that meeting," Dave put in immediately. The Seelie didn't say so, but Dumbledore had the distinct impression that Harry's grandfather wasn't about to leave him alone with his grandson. Really, Dumbledore couldn't blame the man for that, as he had made some grave errors where it concerned Harry and his grandfather would just want to protect him from people that would try their best to take advantage of him.
"I'll wait outside of the actual meeting if I have to, but there's no way I'm leaving you alone with Harry, because you have not earned my trust yet," Dave said unknowingly putting Dumbledore's thoughts into words. "You've admitted you made a mistake with placing my grandson with the Dursleys and that is a step in the right direction, but don't think for one moment that I trust you to do right by him, as you're to used to making all the decisions without consulting others. If I did leave Harry with you I'm sure you would try your best to put him somewhere I couldn't find him and even if you didn't you would likely try your best to manipulate him into doing what you think should be done.
"Hellfires! You were going to manipulate him to his death just because you couldn't figure out a way to remove that Horcrux behind his scar. You were going to do that to a child, as I doubt he would've been more than 16 or 17 at most and that headmaster should show you how far you have fallen when you can even think that's a good idea.
"Manipulation is so much a part of the way you operate that you can't seem to leave it behind. I will protect my grandson until he's old enough to protect himself from people that want to take advantage of his fame or his money or for some other reason.
"Believe me, Harry and I have educated ourselves on every decision and action you've ever take and this pacifist attitude you seem to have about not killing, even in the middle of a battle has got to stop or at least you have to stop not letting people do what needs to be done when their lives are in danger. If what is coming turns into open warfare Harry will be aiming to kill his opponents before they kill him. That's not to say he won't try to bring them in alive, but I'm teaching him how to protect himself. Just putting down the enemy where their comrades can revive them and then sneak up behind him is a good way to get yourself killed. I don't want my grandson to be one of the casualties just because he doesn't kill his opponents, because of your influence.
"There was so many things that you could've done headmaster before that blasted prophecy was ever made and yes, I know about that. If only you and those people in the government had gotten off your butts and done what was proper my grandson wouldn't have to be involved in this and my daughter and her husband would likely still be alive. But because you sat back on your hands and refused to give death sentences to those that tortured and killed, it's no wonder that so many of them escaped justice. The British magical government has got to be one of the crookedest government in the entire magical world, where they don't care about justice, only about people that have enough gold to pay them off. More often than not that's usually the bad guy who of course, gets off scot-free, while innocent people are usually framed for another's crime or at the very least not given justice, because they don't have the money to pay for it and it doesn't matter whether or not they're innocent."
"It's all that inbreeding we've heard so much about granddad," Harry who had been silent said. "Inbreeding is not good for anyone and the purebloods of England are inbred to a very incestuous degree. Humans are not dogs or horses to where you can do inbreeding without too much harm. Due to the fact that a lot of the old pureblood families insist on keeping their blood supposedly pure you're bound to start getting defects, especially since they've been doing it for hundreds of years. I suspect it's also one of the reasons that they have trouble having children and a lot of times only have one per generation for a lot of families. I suppose that it all depends on how close spouses actually are genetically. If it's distant cousin that still might not be healthy but it's better than then be in first cousins or even second."
"The purebloods are going to find sometime in the future that they can't have children at all and all because they've refused to let new blood into their bloodlines. I suspect that the only reason that they aren't getting physical defects or deformities is that magic protects them from that particular aspect of so much inbreeding," Dave added.
"That's not our problem granddad. Let the old pureblood families stew in a problem of their own making. Why should we tell them what they're problem having children is? They wouldn't listen to us, even if we did, so what's the point? If someday, in the not too distant future, they can't have children due to the fact that they keep marrying their cousins or even their nieces and nephews, well, I say let them reap what they've sowed, as that way there will be less purebloods that are known for creating discriminatory laws against anyone who doesn't have the proper bloodlines."
"Killing someone will turn you dark," Dumbledore finally interrupted.
"If you really think that Dumbledore then you're an idiot," Dave laughed, a laugh that had nothing of humor in it causing Dumbledore to look offended. "The only way killing someone will turn you into a bad person is if you get enjoyment from the act. If you do so in order to protect your life or the life of someone else then that is a justified killing and is known as self-defense. Any government in the world is not going to put you in prison for protecting yourself, except maybe the British magical government, since so many crooked people work there. If this turns into war Dumbledore what do you expect Harry to do, since he is supposedly prophesied to defeat Voldemort? You expect him to throw simple spells at Voldemort and possibly put him in prison, which he would escape from easily?"
Dumbledore's expression told Dave that the headmaster hadn't thought about that.
"See,you have all these weird ideas of what is right and wrong and force your followers to obey your commands, even if it gets them killed, because they believe you when you tell them it's the right course of action, because your charisma is so strong. Tell me Mr. Dumbledore how many lives would've been saved if you hadn't enforced that rule on your followers? I'm not saying that killing for the most part isn't wrong, but to kill in the middle of a battle or to protect lives is certainly considered justified by most people, except people like yourself, those with delusions. The only way killing someone is going to turn somebody into a Dark Wizard Dumbledore, is if they don't feel guilty or show remorse for their actions like Voldemort for example. I mean isn't it you that killed Grindelwald back in 1945 and did that turn you into an evil wizard?"
"Of course not, but then..." Dumbledore raised himself to his feet haughtily.
"If you're going to say that you're the only one that could possibly not go dark by killing someone, because your Albus Dumbledore and therefore, you actions are always correct, Harry and I will leave here immediately never to return," Dave warned him with a look so full of contempt that Dumbledore actually hung his head in shame, immediately losing his haughtiness.
Off to the side, Ragnok grinned at the old headmaster being taken down several pegs by the sídhe, both older and younger. He was really enjoying the show and would enjoy reviewing the memory many times for decades to come.
"You're just like any other man and you are not the only one that is supposedly incorruptible. It's the reasons for killing someone that matter. Yes, you're powerful, but there are other powerful witches and wizards all over the world that might even be stronger than you are magically. You've been making decisions for everyone for so long that you can't seem to give up the habit.
"If I allow my grandson to come to Hogwarts any interference in his life and I'll have him out of there faster than you can blink. If you try to mold him into a tool to point at Voldemort you can forget that ludicrous idea right now, because I'll be watching you very closely and Harry has been fully informed of what you might try. I have no intention of keeping him in the dark, though I'm sure you would have preferred that, so that you could manipulate him easier.
"I made sure that Harry has been involved in any important discussion or decisions right from the start, as it's his life, which would be cut incredibly short if you had your way. Sídhe live much longer than magicals, as half-blood like Harry can live at least 500,000 years.
"You have a nasty habit of making other people's decisions for them instead of giving them the information they need. I have no doubt that's gotten a lot of people killed. You have every right to your beliefs, but if you try to turn my grandson to your ideas of right and wrong or try to claim he is going dark, because he does not worship on the altar of Albus bloody Dumbledore you will not like what I do to you.
"You only one man headmaster, you're not a god nor are you omniscient. In fact, England is so far behind the times compared to other countries that's it's amazing to me that the British wizarding world hasn't ceased to be. You are one of the people that keep England stuck so far in the past, because you keep pandering to the purebloods who want to keep the status quo.
"I don't think you're evil, as I said earlier, just very misguided and set in your ways. You can't seem to help yourself when it comes to meddling in everybody's lives thinking you always know best, but of course, you cock it up more often than not. This should tell you to leave well enough alone, but of course, it doesn't. You can't seem to help, but give your opinion or try to interfere."
"How could you possibly know that," Dumbledore tried to protest.
"I know everything there is to know about you Albus Dumbledore," Dave told him his expression unreadable his tone contemptuous. "You know very well that the Seelie have certain powers and in order to keep my grandson safe I'm willing to use them as much as necessary to do so."
That was all Dave was going to say on the subject, as he wasn't about to tell Dumbledore exactly how he had discovered all about his past.
"Right now, I'll take your word that you will leave my grandson alone and also anybody else, like Sirius Black, once he is released from prison. If you swear you will not try to manipulate him or anybody else that is looking after him or who he befriends then I will accept your word of honor. If you break it and I have to get a magical oath from you then I will never trust you again and more importantly neither will Harry. You get only one chance to prove that you can do the right thing without meddling or manipulating others into doing what you think is right."
"I agree with everything my grandfather has said," Harry who had been reading over his parents papers said looking up suddenly, proving he had been listening. "I will be no one's tool or weapon. I'll kill Voldemort and not because you want me to or because of some prophecy, but because he killed my parents. My opinion of you headmaster, is very low, especially after everything I've learned about you over the last year or more but it can sink lower so you better watch your step. You better not even think for example of trying to put me with some other family that are your allies to get away from my grandfather, because I'll escape before you can blink and be gone. I'll tell you right now, I'll consider it kidnapping and go directly to The Department of Magical Law Enforcement and report you and if that doesn't work you know what will happen. I'll simply disappear."
"Am I to be blamed for everything?" Dumbledore asked quite put out.
"You're not being blamed for everything. We're just pointing out what we think you're capable of doing if you think it's the right thing to do for the greater good of course," Harry contradicted Dumbledore immediately. "Granddad and I have studied every action you've ever taken from the time you defeated Grindelwald. You've admitted you were wrong with placing me with the Dursleys and as granddad said that's a step in the right direction, so you need to keep on that path. We're just warning you against doing some things that we think you are capable of, because you won't like the results if you do any of them. If you can't take our warnings to heart and feel all insulted then an alliance between us at least temporarily is going to be impossible.
"After all, technically, you're already guilty of kidnapping a baby and having the will of an Noble and Most Ancient House sealed illegally. The government let you get away with it though, without thinking about the legality of your actions, just because you're Albus Dumbledore. What do you think will happen if I point out to them that you placed me in an abusive environment and sealed the will of an Noble and Most Ancient family illegally so that nobody would know who my proper guardians were supposed to be? What do you think their response will be?"
Dumbledore went white at that as he knew his reputation at least would suffer, although he'd probably avoid Azkaban, but only by calling in numerous favors as Fudge didn't like him and he knew Lucius Malfoy would do anything in his power to see him brought down low. It didn't help that Fudge was in Lucius Malfoy's pocket.
"Exactly," Harry said seeming to understand what the headmaster was thinking. "At the very least your reputation would suffer irreparable harm and and at worse you will find yourself in Azkaban just like Sirius Black who is actually innocent of the crimes he supposedly committed."
The look Harry shot him told Dumbledore that Harry wasn't going to let him back down from trying to get Sirius free, so he wasn't going to be able to wiggle out of his promise, not that he intended to.
Unfortunately, he could understand the mistrust Harry and his grandfather had for him considering his actions in the past where it concerned one Harry Potter. The sídh was also right in what he had been thinking and that was he could get Harry out from under his grandfather's control and train a boy to do what he wanted. But unfortunately, Harry was way to independent and he had no doubt that the boy would find a way to escape and disappear as you couldn't keep your eye on anyone 24 hours a day and any spells he tried to use on Harry he would likely be able to shake off due to the sídhe blood.
When those thoughts had entered his head Dumbledore had dismissed them almost immediately thinking that the grandfather was good for Harry, because the boy was certainly more confident then he would've been if he had stayed under the abuse at the Dursleys. He took the Seelie's threats seriously. That he'd take Harry back to the otherworld never too return if Dumbledore didn't do the right thing.
How anybody could predict his possible actions so accurately Dumbledore didn't understand, but then he really didn't understand human nature as deeply as Dave or Harry did, because he hadn't bothered to study it and also because he came from a time where mostly crime was kept behind closed doors, particularly the abuse of children and also spousal abuse.
The world had been changing for decades and yet he had ignored these changes thinking that they didn't matter. Now he could see that British wizarding society needed to advance to the 21st century or they were going to become more and more obvious to Muggles and the Statute of Secrecy was soon going to be in tatters. This was a problem that he knew he should've addressed decades ago, but hadn't bothered when he should have.
Muggles weren't stupid no matter what many purebloods is believed.

~~~Dave and Harry~~~