Disclaimer: Goodness gracious, no!
Author's Note: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! Oh yes, Fudge and those Healers are going to get justice served to them. I agree, what they did to Dumbledore is sickening.
Yes, I think Dumbledore has some major flaws, some that are completely unacceptable. But I definitely think what the Healers did is wrong on so many levels as well. You'll see what happens as the story progresses. But I certainly don't plan on the incredibly awful Minister of Magic weaseling out of all the trouble he's landed himself in.
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
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"Sirius, how many times do I have to tell you? You are NOT old!" Harry laughed as he and his grinning godfather got up from the dinner table. "For Merlin's sake, you're only turning thirty-six in November!"
It had become a common subject of banter between Harry and Sirius ever since Harry's birthday. They had both been sitting down on the couch listening to music, and once, when Sirius had stood and stretched, Harry could hear the sounds of his joints popping as he did so. "Don't mind me, kiddo," he'd joked. "Your godfather is just becoming an old man, that's all."
Now, Sirius said it all the time, and Harry was always countering his arguments. It was just one more way in which their relationship was growing stronger - they were very comfortable teasing each other now.
"Oh, I'll convince you yet," Sirius smiled. "Next thing you know, you'll be having to help me get from the drawing room to the kitchen. It's inevitable, you know."
"Oh, puh-lease." The boy giggled. "I don't think I've ever heard someone be so melodramatic."
"Melodramatic? Me?" Sirius's highly offended tone made Harry laugh again. "I resent that insult!"
"It's not an insult if it's true!" Harry exclaimed, smiling as he saw that Sirius was having trouble holding in his laughter. "Now, stop complaining about your nonexistent old age and help me with Transfiguration, won't you? Otherwise, Hermione will nag me something awful."
Sirius let out an exaggerated groan. "Hermione Granger," he sighed. "I swear, Remus wasn't even as bad as her. He was always telling us to do our work, but Merlin, that girl is something else." He grinned. "She's amazingly intelligent. In some ways, she reminds me of Lily." His expression grew wistful.
"How?" Harry asked as they settled onto the couch. Over the time he and Sirius had spent together, Harry loved the moments when his godfather would talk about his parents. Though there were instances when there was an infinite sadness in his eyes when he discussed them, he was always more than willing to explain to Harry about their Hogwarts days and beyond, and he would answer any question Harry asked. It was completely the opposite of what the Dursleys had done. Harry had once, as a very little boy, asked his aunt a question about her sister. Petunia's response was to sneer at him, the expression full of bitterness and loathing. "Don't ask questions," she'd almost shrieked, her voice shrill and hysterical. "Go to your cupboard and stay there, you disgusting, vile little brat."
At the beginning of he and Sirius's stay here, Harry had been hesitant to ask questions about Lily and James due to his previous experiences. He also didn't want to upset Sirius by bringing up the past too often. But Sirius had shown him that it was perfectly okay to be curious, and Harry had grown more comfortable asking for information over the past month. Through Sirius's tales and anecdotes, Harry was learning a lot more about who they had been as real people. He lapped up every tidbit Sirius gave him, and he realized it was helping the man as well. During his time in Azkaban, his godfather had only been able to focus on the grief of losing them, the guilt of his own part in their deaths, and the rage and hate he felt for Peter Pettigrew. Discussing them with Harry was giving him a chance to remember the joy and love they had shared, and all the good times they had experienced.
"Well," Sirius said, "Lily was always correcting us if we got something wrong. It used to annoy me something awful before I really grew to love and respect her. During our first year, I can't say that I was very nice to her at all. She felt the need to constantly raise her hand in class whenever we were asked a question by a professor."
Harry couldn't help it - he burst out laughing. "Hermione did the exact - same - thing!" he said in between chuckles. "Ron and I hated it, though it got on Ron's nerves more than mine. Promise you won't tell Ron I told you this?" he asked.
"Of course I promise," Sirius said. "What did Ron do?"
"He said something really mean to her on Halloween of first year," Harry explained. "That's why she was in the girls' bathroom when we rescued her from the troll. She told Ron that he was saying the levitation spell wrong, and he got angry with her because of it. I know he felt guilty about what he said afterwards, and Hermione realized that."
Sirius smiled, but Harry could tell that the troll incident still upset him greatly. "Well," he said, "there wasn't any mountain troll that started my friendship with Lily, but she grew on me. I used to think your father was mad for fancying her. He actually got angry with me once for being rather nasty to her. He refused to speak to me for an entire day. He wouldn't even let me come into our dormitory until I apologized."
"Really?" Harry asked. "What year was this?"
"Fifth," Sirius replied. "She still wouldn't give him the time of day, but he was convinced she was the one. I ..."
Suddenly, the fireplace lit up with green flames, the Floo connection roaring to life. Sirius jumped off the couch, his expression fierce and alert. Harry stood too, his hand immediately seeking out his jeans pocket, where his wand was located. They weren't expecting anyone this evening, and Harry had a bad feeling that something was very wrong. The only people who knew where they were hiding were Remus, the Weasleys, and Hermione who was staying with them, but they wouldn't just suddenly show up without owling them first, unless ...
It was Remus's head in the fireplace. The last time he had seen the man looking this completely undone was that night in the Shrieking Shack. He looked like the entire world had tilted off of its axis.
"Remus? What is it?" Sirius sounded panicked. "What's wrong?"
"Please, can I come through?" Remus's voice was hoarse. "Something's happened."
Sirius nodded, speechless, and Remus whirled into the room, landing hard on the drawing room floor. He brushed himself off, and Harry could see that in his hand, he held an edition of the Daily Prophet. Harry and Sirius did not receive the newspaper themselves, having been sheltered from the outside world when they'd gone into hiding. Neither of them had wanted to face the horror of what was going on - they did not need to see the cruel and awful things that were doubtlessly being written about Harry every day regarding his supposed murder of Cedric Diggory. Remus knew this, and he was here with the Prophet now. It was obvious he would only do this if something truly important had happened.
"Professor Lupin?" Harry asked quietly, dread filling his stomach and making him feel queasy. "What ..."
"Fudge has been arrested," Remus said in a rush. "He's in a holding cell at the Ministry."
"What?" Sirius exclaimed, flabbergasted. "Why?"
Harry's heart leapt. The first emotions he felt were pure shock mixed with relief. He'd really grown to loathe the current Minister of Magic. His point-blank refusal to believe Sirius was innocent, his complete denial regarding Voldemort's return, the fact that he simply would not listen to reason even when Snape had shown him the Dark Mark in plain view, made him furious. Harry had no doubt that Fudge wholeheartedly believed that he had killed Cedric in cold blood. He'd never forget what his friends had told him about the awful and unreasonable way the Aurors had acted when they'd come to Hogwarts to arrest him, but had gotten Dumbledore instead. He still wondered what had happened to his Headmaster, how he had escaped from the Ministry's clutches.
And then, his question was finally answered, but in a way that was so horrifying that Harry never would have thought of it in his wildest, most frightening nightmares. "Dumbledore's been hurt. Very, very badly," Remus said, his tone containing nothing but an endless amount of horror.
As Sirius and Harry read the rare special edition of the Daily Prophet, Harry was rooted to the spot as he was buffeted by waves of emotion. This was ... this was ... he couldn't wrap his mind around it. His stomach grew even more queasy, and the more he read, the more he wanted to expel everything he had eaten for dinner. No, scratch that - not just dinner. Lunch and breakfast, too.
When he'd first been acquainted with Voldemort, he'd gotten his first glimpse of sheer, pure evil. Every year at Hogwarts, he'd seen what power it could hold. When he'd seen Cedric murdered before his very eyes, when he had seen Voldemort resurrected, when he'd felt the knives of the Cruciatus Curse stab through him, he'd known exactly what evil could do.
But somehow, even after witnessing and experiencing what he had, this was still able to stun him. Just the thought of Albus Dumbledore, someone he'd always looked up to, a man who seemed to Harry to be invincible, untouchable ... just the thought of him being violated by those two ... two ... absolute monsters who called themselves Healers ... it made his entire body shake. Albus Dumbledore lying in a bed, too weak to even stand. Albus Dumbledore, who had no memory whatsoever of the last year. All those conversations Harry had seen him have with staff in the Great Hall, the way he welcomed the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, the way he'd listened as Harry explained the entire story of the horror of the Third Task, the way he'd allowed himself to be arrested by the Aurors when he'd lied and said that he had been the one to take Harry into hiding, leaving him with someone he trusted ... all those memories were gone, every single last one of them.
"Harry." The boy heard Sirius's voice, but it sounded very far away. "Harry, kiddo, this wasn't your fault."
It was Cedric all over again, wasn't it? Dumbledore wasn't dead - he could heal, unlike Cedric. But his mind had been violated, played with in a way that went beyond anything Harry had ever imagined. He remembered feeling distinctly nauseated when, last year at the Quidditch World Cup, he'd seen that Muggle who had been memory charmed over and over again so as not to remember that thousands of witches and wizards had been to that location. He looked supremely addled when Harry had seen him, and he'd realized he did not like the look of memory charms one bit. Then, there had been the time two years ago when Gilderoy Lockhart, due to Ron's broken wand backfiring, had Obliviated himself rather than Ron and Harry. The man couldn't remember his own name, and had to go to Saint Mungo's for long-term care.
But Harry had never really understood, not until this moment, what could truly be done to the mind by a witch or wizard with an evil agenda. What had been done to Dumbledore ... Harry felt shudders coursing through his body.
And none of this would have happened if not for him. His stalwart, strong Headmaster had been in a month-long coma because of him. Maybe he should have let himself get arrested, he thought with self-disgust crawling over him. If he hadn't been such a coward, if he hadn't taken the opportunity Sirius had given him to escape the horror his life had become ...
Suddenly, he felt Sirius's arms come around him, protecting him, shielding him, covering him in love and security. "Don't you dare think like that, Harry." He heard the man's fierce whisper in his ear. "It's obvious what you're thinking, and I won't allow it. It was Dumbledore's choice to do what he did. I know you don't really understand it right now, Harry, but that man has done so much wrong. He's hurt you in ways I couldn't have even imagined. Letting himself get arrested ... that's the most decent thing he's done in a long time."
Harry stared at him, aghast. "You can't think what was done to him was right!" he cried out, his voice trembling. "I can't bear to think about what he's been through!"
"Harry, pup, that's not what I'm saying," Sirius said gently, looking him straight in the eye so that Harry knew what he was saying was true. "There's no denying that what he had to endure is pure evil. I hope those Healers spend the rest of their lives in Azkaban, and considering that I know what that place is like, it's something I wouldn't wish on someone who doesn't deserve it." He tenderly stroked Harry's hair. "But Harry, he's let you down so many times. So many. It hurts me terribly to say so, because he used to be my hero."
"Mine too," Remus whispered as he sat on Harry's other side. "But Sirius made me realize some things. And you did, too, when you talked with me when I was last here. Harry, Sirius is right. None of this is your fault."
"I will never, ever say that what happened to Dumbledore is right, Harry, or that he deserved any of it," Sirius said. "I wish him nothing less than a full recovery. All I'm saying is that ... Harry, it might sound horrible and callous, but I hope this really allows him the time to truly think about his own behavior."
His arms tightened around Harry then, and the boy could feel the man trembling. "Merlin, Harry," he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion. "I'm so glad I had the sense to get you away from there. If the Aurors had managed to catch you instead ..." His face contorted into a mask of grief and rage. "What if those so-called Healers had done that to you?" he croaked.
Harry felt sick, as that was one of the many thoughts that had gone through his head. "They didn't, Sirius," he said quietly. "Because you did get me away from there. I've always been so grateful you did. I just feel so guilty about Dumbledore ..."
"I know, kiddo." Sirius hugged Harry close. "It's all right. And I know I shouldn't think about something that didn't happen. Those Aurors didn't get you, because for once in my life, I actually did the right thing when it came to you."
"And so many times since," Harry softly reminded him. "Every single day."
The three of them were silent for a while, trying to come to terms with the incredible, terrible knowledge that they had learned. Harry finally broke the silence. "What now?" he asked, realizing that he hadn't finished reading the article but not really wanting to; he would rather hear the rest from Remus.
"Fudge is going to stand trial starting on Monday," Remus explained. "It's going to be absolutely huge. He's being tried in front of the entire Wizengamot, and the trial is open to the public. After his has concluded, the Mind Healers will also be tried."
"What does this mean for Harry?" Sirius asked, his arms still tight around him. "Does this mean he can come out of hiding?"
"I will do my best to attend the trials," Remus replied, his eyes glazed from the shock of everything that had happened. "People with my ... condition are not usually welcome at events like this, but I feel it my duty to try and be there. If I am refused entry, there will be many other Order members that will be in attendance. I doubt there will be much normal Ministry business occurring while this is going on - most people will probably want to attend, including the Weasley family." He looked meaningfully at both his companions. "I have a feeling that before long, Harry, you will be able to come out of hiding."
Harry's emotions were indescribable. To finally have the murder accusations quashed once and for all, to finally be able to go out into the wizarding world again, to finally have it out in the open that Voldemort was truly back ... it was a jumble of fear and relief and guilt and joy and confusion. He stared into Sirius's warm gray eyes, truly looking at the man who had taken care of him for all this time, who had allowed him the chance to be a child, to heal from the ordeals he'd suffered. When he was allowed into the real world again, he knew he could never abandon the man who he knew had become his world.
"Harry?" Sirius asked gently, pulling his godson out of his thoughts.
Harry was filled with an unyielding, strong resolve, the one feeling that surpassed all the others swimming inside him. "Whenever that happens, I will make sure you can come out of hiding, too," he vowed. His horror at what had happened to Dumbledore, his lingering guilt that it had happened because of him, the fury he felt at Cornelius Fudge and the two Mind Healers who had performed an act of pure evil were still there, but when Harry's emerald eyes locked with Sirius's gray ones, he knew that this promise would carry him through whatever was to come. "I swear it."