AN: I do not own Harry Potter.

Visitors

"Mr. Diggory, Cedric, and Harry, how nice to see you. Excellent weather we've been having, hasn't it?"

"Hello, Headmaster, Professor Snape."

The tenor of Mr. Diggory's voice was now something that Harry didn't mind listening to. It had been raised in anger, and nothing had happened that was anything to the degree of the Dursley's. It had sounded sad, and it had also been used in comfort, like the evening after the two boys had arrived. He didn't even mind Harry being comforted either. It had been happy and mischievous, like the Wednesday evening last week when the family plus Harry were telling jokes. Right now it sounded polite, and he was still talking.

"...So what brings you by?"

"Oh, I was just checking on Harry, now that he is no longer under his mother's ward. There could be no antagonistic magic used against Harry or his family in it. Professor Snape came because we have an errand afterwards."

"It has lasted that long without an adult wizard?" commented Mr. Diggory, "The only ones I know like that are seriously strong and have been built up over years. I am surprised."

"Oh, she did an exceptional job. I had attached an instrument to let me know how the ward was holding up. It just crashed in the last two weeks. Naturally, I just came by to check on Harry after that."

"It was a good thing then that Harry Potter had just been emancipated in June then."

"Yes, it is a good thing the boy had left by then." said the dour Professor Snape, "Speaking of that, Potter, you'd better go over last year's notes and corrections, because this year gets harder and I don't want to clean you off the ceiling tiles. I don't care how much you like being in the hospital wing."

"Sir, I don't..."

Harry gave up with words and huffed and glared at the stern man.

"Mind your manners, no matter how he makes you," said Mr. Diggory quietly.

"Yes, sir, I will do so," said Harry after uncrossing his arms and sitting normally.

Professor Snape nodded, and said, "See that you do."

The man remained quiet the rest of the visit.

"By the way, Cedric, may I say congratulations on your impressive marks? Not breaking any records, but definitely within the higher ranges and shows how much effort you put into it."

"Thank you, Headmaster. I suppose you saw the marks as well?"

"I did. Harry, have you been to see the Weasley's? I know that you spend a lot of time with Ronald."

"I have, actually. We had a joint Quidditch game two weeks ago with some of the other guys around town. It was fun. They left a bit ago, though, so I haven't seen them since."

"Nice to hear. I was wondering if you would be willing to join them for the rest of the summer?"

"It depends. Am I allowed? I mean, I have been earning my keep by doing chores, and even then I have had spare time and stuff. I mean I even got my homework done and played outside and stuff. Once we're there, I don't know if I'll be able to have the quiet to study extra if its going to be as important to do as it sounds."

"I'm sure you'll get some."

Harry stopped. He looked at Mr. Diggory, who had a frown on his face at the direction this conversation had gone. Cedric was starting to look tense, and Professor Snape looked... resigned.

Harry frowned; based on what was going on around him, including Cedric who fought with him against Death Eaters and Voldemort, there was something off about the conversation. Looking at the way people around him were looking, though, made him want to put it off. He was missing something. Then again, he knew Ron, and Ron would pull him away from studying if the effort produced wouldn't be graded and even then it was hard to get him to look at his books.

"Can I think about it?"

"I don't see why not."

"Can I owl you a letter?"

"You can."

"Thanks."

Later that day, Mr. Diggory went to speak to Harry.

"Harry, I noticed that there are two things that I need to point out to you. I know you were muggle raised. At any given point in time, was it right for you to go with your teacher outside of school?"

"No."

"Do you see why that could be wrong for you to do?"

"Is it because that despite him putting me with the Dursley's, he shouldn't have a say in my life outside of school?"

"There is that, but also he shouldn't be your authority. He shouldn't have even been allowed to place you."

"So, he basically kidnapped me?"

(AN: I can see in a way where Dumbledore was right to be the one placing Harry. As a leader in one side of the war, which Harry was an orphan from his side, looking at it that way, I can see why he was the one placing Harry. In a way, he was going against his own government as well, as he was trying to keep Harry from the ones who he knew were part of the government but on the other side of the war.)

"It could be," answered Mr. Diggory.

"He said..."

Harry started fidgeting with his impatience to get his words out.

"He said? Go ahead, you can say it."

Mr. Diggory calmly gave Harry what he needed to word vomit.

"You will keep it a secret?"

"As much as I can."

"That doesn't mean much."

"I won't say anything unless saying something will get you out of danger."

"Okay, I'll take that."

"He said that he knew he basically condemned me to ten awful years. Why would he do that, if he knew how awful the Dursley's were? I mean, was he hiding me? I know Neville's parents were targeted a week later, Neville told me."

"It could be."

"Is he a side of the war, then? I guess that makes sense. I guess that would mean he knows Snape is a Death Eater, yet maybe he is also now on the same side of the war as Dumbledore, but that would also mean that Snape is not fully supporting Voldemort, and is hiding that from Voldemort somehow."

"I guess that makes sense."

"That means that all that Ron was saying about dark wizards all following You-Know-Who wrong then, because if there is one that I know of that is not truly with You-Know-Who, that means that others aren't either. That means that not all dark wizards are bad, and that means, so much of what I thought was wrong. I've got to tell Ron. Bill probably knows too, because he's a curse breaker, but he's probably keeping quiet to keep from getting yelled at by his mother, because Mrs. Weasley says that about dark magic when it's brought up too."

"And that means?"

"I really don't know the difference between a light wizard and a dark wizard. I do know..."

He went silent.

"Go on."

"It might hurt your feelings, and I don't want to do that."

"No, go ahead, figure things out out loud like you've been doing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, speak."

"Right, thanks. I do know that the way that a lot of people view werewolves and house elves are very wrong. I made a house elf friend, and rescued him from his owner, Mr. Malfoy, who was treating him like the Dursley's did to me, including the wearing of rags, chores, and punishments, and he has found work and has been super friendly and happy to be free. He works at Hogwarts, gets paid and clothes, and is super strong. Everyone thinks that the way Malfoy treats his elves is fine, or doesn't do anything about it unless one happens to be free. One of my former teachers was a werewolf, back in my second year, and he was the best teacher we had, he just left the school and went into a closed and locked space for the full moon. He could get out once he was back to human, because we did. He wasn't trying to endanger anybody, and even took precautions, yet as soon as people knew he was a werewolf, he had to leave because of the amount of complaints the school got. And people think that a declared werewolf shouldn't get a job! Why? They are trained or can be! Does the fact that they are known to be off sick for a single day each month make them unable to be hired? I know a person that tells their boss that they are sick consistently every Friday and because they do such good work, no one bothers them about it. So why not werewolves? It's literally one fourth of the time away from work as the person who consistently calls in every Friday. I really think the problem is people's belief about them, but based on the stories, it needs to be done soon before more decide that since the government won't let them live inside the law, they'll just live, all of them, outside the law."

"You really think that?"

"Of course. It may have been stories from before the wolf's bane potion came out, but the laws need to change or else we might all as well get bitten so that we have to change the laws about it."

"And we won't all survive it. Some die from being bit."

"Well, most aren't contagious outside one day a month really, so why again is this such a big deal to a society where we just say a spell, wave a wand, and a door locks?"

"Okay, I'm reaching my limit of you speaking that way about our society."

"Sir, could you do that? Research what it would take to have werewolves accepted as the rest of us? At least it isn't like leprosy."

"Is it that big a deal?"

"It is to those who care for the werewolves and the werewolves themselves."

"But they supported the Dark Lord?"

"He's allowing them in his army, isn't he? That's at least a job, and that right there is better than a lot of others, including his supporters."

"Okay, the second question, why should a teacher pressure you into doing something when you are not sure about whether or not it is the right thing to do, especially since the Weasley's are in an undisclosed location and without the reason why?"

"I get what you mean. I'm emancipated, which means my decisions have a lot more weight than before, and him pressuring me into doing something would be the same as an adult being pressured into it, which is rude."

"It could also be hiding his reason for you leaving."

"Why do you think that is?"

"With what you've told me, I wouldn't be surprised if what Ron was taught growing up was Dumbledore's beliefs, and since he knows I don't agree with him on a lot of things, he wants you back where what you hear is what he wants you to hear."

Harry thought.

"Wait, could he be wanting me to treat you guys like the Dursley's? Not exactly the same, but since a lot of what they taught me growing up was wrong, that he wants me to view what you guys think as wrong."

"I just thought of something else. I think you going would be a way to see what the reality of their way of life really is."

"I guess.

"Think about it?"

"Sure."