Chapter 34
How Can I Trust You?
Author's Note: Some of the Vault descriptions are taken from some of my older stories.
In this chapter, you will see a creation of mine I have been keeping secret for a while now. More will be explained in the bottom Author's Notes.
Warning: Dumbledore Bashing
(Monday, December 21st, 1994 – 11:30 AM)
Fifteen minutes after they left the meeting room, Harry, Hermione, and Ragnok were standing in front of Vault 688, which held the majority of the Potter Family material possessions, that which wasn't currently in the Potter residents around the world.
The trek on a mine-cart, through the Vault tunnels, and deep underground, was amazing. Then there was the humongous, blind dragon used for security. It wasn't as big as the Horntail Harry had faced nearly a month ago, but it was still a bit terrifying. Ragnok had asked Harry if he wanted to test his Beast Speaking ability to speak to the dragon, but Harry declined, hoping that the Goblin was joking. A brave Gryffindor he may be, but speaking to a dragon he had just met wasn't brave - it was stupid!
Harry studied the Vault and noticed, etched into the bronze door, a design, like a shield. He held up his Potter Family ring and compared it to the shield. A Griffin standing tall, its wings outstretched, stood above two swords pointed diagonally. On the Griffin's chest, there was a letter P.
"Vault 688 – Potter Family Material Possessions," Ragnok said. "Lord Potter, walk up to the door, and press the Potter Family ring directly in the hole that forms around the upper portion of the large letter P."
Harry did as was instructed, then backed away as he heard a great mechanical sound. The Potter Shield split in two, dividing the two swords, as the doors melted into the walls revealing the Vault and its treasures within.
Harry's eyes widened at the sight. The Vault was cavernous – he could compare it to the Great Hall, just by the sheer size. Just standing in the entrance, Harry could see the furniture, chests, and what appeared to be mannequins wearing clothing and armor. Weapons – swords, shields, bows, staffs – hung on the walls. One wall had at least a half-dozen bookshelves lined up together, with dozens of books on each shelf. One glance at Hermione found her staring at the bookshelves.
"Keeper Ragnok," Harry said, "Do you know where I can find my family's jewelry boxes?"
"If they are not in your Hope Chest," Ragnok said, "They should be near the clothing."
Harry's eyes widened. "I forgot about my Hope Chest! I even asked my house-elf to bring it to my Private Quarters at Hogwarts, and I haven't opened it. Been so busy!"
"You can open it this week, Harry," Hermione said, smiling.
Harry nodded. "Will you stay out here, Keeper Ragnok?"
"Yes," Ragnok said, "The dragon will not bother me back here."
"Very well," Harry said, "Coming, Hermione?"
"Yes, I want to see those books!" Hermione said.
Harry laughed, as he led Hermione into the Vault. "I thought so. Don't take any right now, though. Make a list of the books you want and, whenever we want, we can always ask Dobby to take the books from here, so we can read them."
"Good idea," Harry said, "Thanks. You can go over to the bookshelves. I need to find the jewelry boxes, if they're not in my Hope Chest. I am curious as to what is inside them."
He wasn't about to tell her he had thoughts of giving her a piece or two of jewelry for Christmas.
Hermione grinned and walked over toward the bookshelves. Harry made his way over to the mannequins, and found dressers and cabinets, which were obviously filled with some types of clothing. There were also racks with various shirts, pants, robes and other clothing hanging up.
Harry soon found what he was looking for. Two jewelry boxes – one large, one smaller – sat on what appeared to be a vanity table. He picked up the smaller one and opened it. His eyes widened as he saw all the various obviously expensive jewelry. It was filled with Bracelets – for both arms and ankles - earrings and jeweled chokers.
He then looked through the bigger box and found several necklaces and rings. The rings – unlike the Lords and Ladies rings – were mostly engagement and wedding rings which were obviously owned by various Potter Lords and Ladies, and husbands and wives over several generations. He wondered if his parents' engagement and wedding rings were in here. If they weren't, maybe they were in his Hope Chest. He'd have to look through pictures, and maybe ask Sirius, Amelia and Remus about it.
He looked through all the jewelry, admiring each, and smiled as he picked out a necklace and earring set for Hermione. He also found a small mokeskin pouch in the large box. He placed the chosen jewelry inside, then stuffed the bag into his coat pocket. With a sudden thought, Harry walked back over to Ragnok.
"Do you know if any of the rings in the jewelry box are Betrothed rings?" Harry asked. "I don't want engagement rings. Hermione wants me to propose to her on her seventeenth birthday, you see. But we need something to mark our Betrothal in a physical way."
"As a matter of fact there are," Ragnok said, "The last Betrothed Potter and his bride – who had been Betrothed when they were eleven years old - wore Celtic Rings. They should be in the box."
Harry thanked Ragnok and walked back over to the jewelry boxes. He soon found two Celtic-style rings – the only two Celtic rings in the box. He smiled, as he realized these must be what Ragnok referred to. He walked over to Hermione, who was reading through one of the books she had found.
"Oh, Harry, there are so many wonderful books here," Hermione said, after putting the book back on the shelf, "It will take me ages to read all of them. If I can read them all. Some of them might be limited to the Potter Family, and I won't be able to read them until we are married."
"Just gives you more incentive to marry me," Harry teased; Hermione giggled and nodded, "Open your hand for a moment."
Hermione opened her hand and Harry placed one of the Celtic Rings on his girlfriend's palm.
"Betrothal Rings," Harry said, showing his own ring, "My last Betrothed ancestor and his bride, who was Betrothed at eleven, wore these. I figured we could wear these as evidence of our Betrothal."
"Oh, this is beautiful, Harry!" Hermione said, "Very thoughtful of you too. Of course I'll wear it. Would you put in on me?"
Harry agreed. He placed it on Hermione's ring finger on the hand that didn't have her Heiress' ring. Harry placed his on his hand that didn't have his Lord's Rings.
"Thank you, Harry," Hermione said, kissing Harry on the cheek – unlike earlier, this was the closest show of affection she dared on Goblin soil.
Harry and Hermione spent the next few minutes touring the Vault and looking through the various items. Five minutes after beginning the tour, they came upon something which nearly made Harry's heart stop, and Hermione choke down a sob at the sight.
It was Harry's old crib from the Godric's Hollow cottage. The reason it was recognized, was because there was evidence of damage on the crib, from Voldemort's attack. Harry knelt down in front of it, staring at the crib, as he pictured the night of the attack in his mind.
He could remember the night vividly due to his eidetic memory. Last time he had seen this crib, his mother had been on this side of it and he had been inside it. His mother had been looking at him through the bars, and he was sitting in the crib with tear-filled eyes and crying for his mother to hold him.
"'Harry, you are so loved," Harry echoed his mother's last words, as he heard them in his memories, "Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong.'"
"What?" Hermione asked.
"My mother's last words to me," Harry said, "I remember them."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, "I am glad you know her last words to you."
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed a box underneath the crib. He pulled it out, and choked at what he found. There were toys and stuffed animals inside. A stag, dog, wolf and tiger – James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily.
"There used to be a rat," Harry whispered. "I destroyed it with accidental magic at some point, I think. I really didn't like that stuffed animal. Maybe… maybe I somehow knew about Peter?"
"Maybe," Hermione said.
Harry cleared his throat and stood up. He placed the box in the crib, then gripped the side of it and closed his eyes.
"Thank you, Mum," Harry said, "I will never forget your last words to me again."
He opened his eyes and looked at Hermione, who had a watery smile on her face.
"Come on, love," Harry said, "Time to go. We need to visit the Daily Prophet before we get back to Hogwarts."
Hermione agreed and followed Harry out of the vault. Harry took one long last look at the Vault and nodded at Ragnok. The vault door closed.
But he would return sooner rather than later. Once he visited Potter Manor for the first time, he would bring some of the contents of the Vault there. For now it would rest, waiting for Dobby to return when he or Hermione requested books.
"Time to go, Keeper Ragnok," Harry said. "Much to be done today. Thank you for your service."
Keeper Ragnok smiled and led the pair past the dragon and back to the minecart.
(Monday, December 21st, 1994 – 1:30 PM)
Since they knew they would miss lunch, after their visit to the Daily Prophet to give Penelope Clearwater the envelope meant for Rita Skeeter, Harry and Hermione had lunch at the Leaky Cauldron with Remus and Tonks. Like in the Three Broomsticks, they had used one of the VIP Rooms. They showed Remus and Tonks the copies of their Betrothal Contract. Remus was quite approving of the listed Provisos and commented that they were 'very well thought out'.
Tonks merely teased the young couple at the idea of heaving three kids. Hermione teased back and said she might be up to giving Harry a Quidditch team full of kids. Harry had choked on his butterbeer at that, and Remus chuckled as Harry sputtered.
"James would have approved, you know," Remus had said, in response, "He wanted a Quidditch team full of kids. Lily wanted three or four."
Harry's eyes had misted over at the thought of this. He always had wondered what it would be like to have siblings.
He then told Remus and Tonks about what he had found in the Vault of material possessions. Remus' eyes misted over when Harry told them about the crib and the box of toys and stuffed animals.
"There was indeed a rat stuffed animal," Remus had said; then chuckled. "I remember your mother telling us that she had gone into your nursery one day and found the rat stuffed animal in two pieces on the floor in front of your crib and stuffing from it around it too. Your mother said she asked you what happened to it. Apparently you said something like 'Pa'foot n' Mooey eat it.'
Harry, Hermione and Tonks chuckled. Harry thought he might be able to remember that if he searched for the memory, now that he knew about it.
"Did I like Pettigrew?" Harry asked, curiously.
"You cried and peed on him when he held you once about six months after you were born," Remus said, then laughed, "might have been during your first Christmas party. It was around that time, I remember. You actually used accidental magic to vanish your diaper so you could pee on him! He never held you again."
"Oh, Merlin!" Harry said, chuckling; as Hermione and Tonks giggled at this.
"Your father and Sirius thought it was the best prank," Remus said, "Called it proof you would be a Marauder. Lily didn't like the fact that you might be a Marauder, and she apologized to Peter for what you did. But later she laughed about it, after Peter left."
For well over an hour, Harry, Hermione, Remus and Tonks had stayed in the VIP room, having good conversation, Remus and Tonks reminiscing about Harry's parents and telling stories, and Harry and Hermione talking about some of the happenings at Hogwarts.
It was half-past-one, and Harry and Hermione were sitting, curled up together in a Carriage as it made its way to Hogwarts. Tonks had said goodbye and left after they had finished lunch, and Remus left them with a farewell, after seeing them off in the carriage.
Hermione was holding Harry's hand and tracing a finger over his Celtic Ring.
"Do you think we should announce our Betrothal the students who remained at School," Harry said, "Before it is seen in the Daily Prophet?"
"We could tell Lavender if we find her," Hermione said, grinning, "Be all over the school by dinner."
Harry chuckled. "I suppose we have told everyone who really should know before they see it in the Daily Prophet. If I told my former dorm-mates, you'd have to tell Lavender, and it would definitely be all over school by dinner."
"Let them find out when everyone else does," Hermione said. "We don't need to tell them otherwise. They're not our Allies, who we should feel obligated to tell."
"I suppose you're right," Harry agreed. "Luckily, we let the Children know on Saturday. I guess we should go to the Lion's Den, put these Contracts in our trunks so they'll be safe, then discuss what will happen in the inevitable meeting with Dumbledore."
"It is a date," Hermione said, before kissing Harry's cheek. "Sounds like a nice way to spend the rest of the day before dinner or Dumbledore's meeting. Whichever happens first."
Harry smiled. The couple remained quiet for the rest of the carriage ride, admiring their new rings, and thinking about what they truly represented.
(Monday, December 21st, 1994 – 6:30 PM)
Neither Professor McGonagall, nor the Headmaster, had returned to Hogwarts by the start of dinner. So Harry and Hermione made their way into the Great Hall, and over to the Ravenclaw Table, where they sat down in their usual spot, across from Neville, Luna, Padma and Ivan Blishwick. Terry Boot was also there, and Harry quickly realized why: the Heir of House Boot was waiting for him.
"Heir Boot," Harry said, "I spoke with your father today. House Boot is still a solid part of the Great Alliance."
Terry looked quite relieved. "Thank you, my Lord. I've been waiting for this news all day. I'm going to go tell Susan."
Terry stood and hurried over to the Hufflepuff Table. Harry turned back and looked at Ivan, who was looking at him nervously.
"Heir Blishwick," Harry said, "House Blishwick – and House Davis – are official members of the Great Alliance."
Ivan smiled in happy relief. "My thanks, my Lord. That is excellent news."
Harry smiled and started putting together a plate of food together.
"So?" Padma asked, looking between Harry and Hermione, "Tell us what else happened today! I assume you claimed your seats on the Council. Did you pen a Betrothal Contract?"
"Alright, we'll tell you," Harry said, "But in exchange, I want to know something too."
"Anything, my Lord," Padma said.
"Have you heard anything about what Viktor Krum is up to lately?" Harry asked, "We haven't heard anything of him since he was banned from the library."
"He hasn't stepped into the castle since that day he was banned from the library," Padma said. "I think he must have finally realized you would never accept an invitation from him to the Yule Ball. From what I hear, he's asked – or is planning to ask – one of the girls from Beauxbatons to the Ball. Not the Champion, just one of the other girls."
"Well, that's a relief," Harry said, "Been worried we might run into more issues with him."
Harry and Hermione recounted the tales of their adventures that day. They were quite amused at how everyone in the Council – aside from the Great Alliance – was gobsmacked about how powerful the Great Alliance had become – what with the return of three Houses, and the addition of three more.
"The Minister was falling over himself when Harry and I claimed our seats," Hermione said, "He looked like he didn't know what he was going on."
"Not too uncommon with Minister Fudge from what my Gran tells me," Neville said. "She never liked the Minister. In fact, she said if the Great Alliance was at its full potential when the Minister was voted in, Fudge wouldn't be Minister."
"Oh, yes," Luna said, "Daddy's always saying the Minister wouldn't be in office if he didn't listen to the voices in his head."
"My youngest sister is Fudge's personal secretary," Ivan said. "She always has the most amusing things to write about the Minister in many of her letters. Just how he fumbles certain things, or how he is always meeting with somebody who is obviously telling him to do certain things. The Headmaster is one of those somebodies. Malfoy's father is another."
Harry and Hermione then followed up, by telling their friends about the Betrothal Contract, and the details of its provisos. Neville and the three Ravenclaws – even Luna! – looked quite impressed.
"My father would be very impressed if he hears the details of the provisos," Ivan said, "He penned the Betrothal for my sister and Lord Davis – Tracey's parents. The only one of my sisters who needed a Betrothal Contract. Though if he finds out what my youngest sister is up to these days… fingers crossed and all that."
"We've given Rita Skeeter all the details about the Contract so it should be in the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning," Hermione said. "I am sure your father will know about the details soon enough. As will everyone else, which is exactly what we want."
Padma gasped, and her eyes widened. "I just noticed your rings! Are they Betrothal rings?"
Harry and Hermione grinned and lifted up their hands with their Celtic rings.
"They once belonged to the last Potter who was Betrothed," Harry said, "I found them in one of my Vaults. Hermione agreed with me that we should wear them as an official Betrothed couple."
"A very good idea," Neville said. "Should keep those fan-girls of yours away!"
"I hope so, Nev!" Harry said, grinning, "I truly do!"
"I am sure Hermione will also help to keep those fan-girls away," Luna said, smiling.
"Definitely," Hermione said, as she wrapped an arm around Harry. "This one's mine. Forever and ever."
"And a day," Harry agreed, then added, "Or two."
Padma sighed and swooned. "You two are so adorable."
Harry and Hermione blushed as their friends chuckled.
Twenty minutes later, Harry and Hermione had barely finished their dinner when Professor McGonagall walked over to them.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, "The Headmaster wishes to see you in his office."
Harry smiled at his friends, when they looked concerned. "Don't worry. We've been expecting this all day."
His friends looked a little reassured, but still concerned. Harry stood up and, hand-in-hand with Hermione, followed McGonagall out of the Great Hall. As they stepped into the Entrance Hall, they came upon a surprise. Sirius Black was standing there.
"Sirius!" Harry said, "What are you doing here?"
"You might be Emancipated, kid," Sirius said, "But I am still your Godfather. Dumbledore isn't going to try anything as long as Professor McGonagall and I are there. And I would like to hear what he has to say myself. Might have a few questions for him myself."
"Does he know you're here?" Harry asked.
"He does not," McGonagall said. "He took the Floo Network straight to his office, after asking me to inform you to meet him there. Sirius overheard and asked if he could tag along with me, so he could join you in the Headmaster's office. I accepted and invited him along."
"Well, thank you," Harry said, "This makes me feel loads better about this meeting."
"Me too," Hermione said.
"Yes," McGonagall said, "Let's go. We shan't keep the Headmaster waiting."
Harry and Hermione, still hand-in-hand, followed McGonagall while Sirius trailed behind them. They reached the gargoyle ten minutes later.
"Candy Canes," McGonagall said.
The gargoyle nodded its large stone head, side-stepped to its left, revealing the stairwell behind it. McGonagall led the three up the stairs. The door to the Headmaster's Office opened as soon as they arrived. Harry, Hermione and Sirius followed McGonagall inside.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, greetings," Dumbledore said, as he sat behind his desk; his brow furrowed and he frowned when he saw Sirius. "Lord Black, it is certainly unexpected seeing you here."
"You call me Lord Black, but you call them Mr. Potter and Miss Granger?" Sirius asked. "Is this a school matter, or something else? If it is not a school matter – something to do with their education – I believe you should call them by their titles – Lord Potter and Heiress Dagworth-Granger."
Dumbledore frowned, then nodded. "I suppose my reasons for asking Lord Potter and Heiress Dagworth-Granger here have little to do with their education. Very well, I will address them by their titles. I imagine they are getting well-acquainted with them lately. I assume you are going to remain too, Minerva?"
"I am, Albus," Minerva said.
Dumbledore waved his wand and four chairs appeared on the nearest side of his desk. Harry and Hermione followed Sirius to the desk, and they sat in the middle two chairs, whilst Sirius sat down next to Harry, and McGonagall sat down next to Hermione.
"Lord Potter, Heiress Dagworth-Granger," Dumbledore said, "I believe you are aware that I am now aware that you have been very busy over the past several days." His eyes twinkled. "And I am not just talking about your end-of-term exams or the other happenings inside this wonderful school. A week ago Sunday, you left this castle, and these Grounds, without permission and visited Gringotts in Diagon Alley."
"Pardon me, Headmaster, I must stop you there," Harry said. "We did not leave without permission. In fact, we were escorted to Gringotts by Professor McGonagall. As she is our Deputy Headmaster and the Head of Gryffindor, she had more than enough permission to do so. Let's not forget that I was Emancipated, and therefore didn't need permission. Something you decided to keep from since October 31st of this year. Not only did you keep it from me, you deliberately lied to me about my Emancipation.
"Why? Because you wanted to stand in front of the Wizengamot Council today and beg the rest of the Council to deny my Emancipation. Oh, yes. We've known that for a few days now. Very naughty of you, sir. To try to keep me from the very rights you agreed to give me, by agreeing that I should participate in the Triwizard Tournament. If you didn't want me to become Emancipated, why didn't you work harder to get me out of the Tournament? I certainly wouldn't have become Emancipated then?
"Can I guess why you didn't want me to be Emancipated? You're afraid of me, Headmaster, aren't you? You're afraid of the power I have now. You're afraid of the power that I could grant as Lord Potter and Lord Peverell. The power I granted today to the Great Alliance. For someone who claims to be the Leader of the Light, Headmaster, you seem very afraid of what the Great Alliance – an Alliance full of Light and Neutral-Light Alliances – can do for our society.
"Or maybe you were afraid of what would have happened when I became Emancipated. It would have meant I would have to visit my Account Manager at Gringotts so I could become Lord Potter and Lord Peverell – along with everything else I discovered."
"Yes, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said, "I was planning on standing in front of the Wizengamot and talk about Emancipation. I wasn't only just going to target you when it came to Emancipation, however. I was going to put forth a Bill that would do away with Emancipation outright. Why? Because there is a reason why 'of age' is considered seventeen years old. Frankly, I believe that should be changed to. 'Of age' should mean those who have finished a magical education, be it here at Hogwarts or elsewhere.
"But that would never pass, because some students chose to not continue their education after they finish their OWL exams. The majority does, of course, go on to take their NEWTS. But there are a few who choose not to, for some reason or another. So unfortunately when it comes to being 'of age', it is a controversial topic. That is why I was going to try to do away with Emancipation as a whole, instead of raising the 'of age' limit to finishing a complete education."
"Then why didn't you?" Sirius asked. "You had roughly eight or nine hours to do so. Why did you give it up after you found out Harry was Lord Potter?"
"Because the only Emancipated youngster at the moment is Lord Potter, Lord Black," Dumbledore said, "I would have certainly been accused of targeting Lord Potter had I done this. Especially after he announced to everyone that he was Emancipated on Halloween. That fact was at the front of their minds. It would have certainly been brought up, wouldn't it? I didn't want to send a message I was targeting the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Because why be honest, right?" Harry asked. "You have been targeting me! From the moment of that Halloween in 1981! You've been interfering in my life from that moment. Maybe before that night! Why stop interfering now? Or did you only stop for a moment, because you didn't want the Lords and Ladies – including Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement – to know you were targeting me?"
"Alright, Lord Potter, I think now is the time to clear the air, is it not?" Dumbledore asked. "It appears you have certainly discovered what I have done to you over the years. Let's turn this into an interrogation, shall we? Give me your accusations, and in turn, I will give you my defense to the best of my ability."
"Fine," Harry said, "But I will not accept the defense of 'an old man's mistake' or 'at my age, my mistakes tend to be much more grand than most'."
Dumbledore turned to Minerva, who smirked.
"I believe Lord Potter knows you better than you think he does, Albus," she said.
"Very well, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said, "I will try to not lean on that particular defense of mine. I can see why it would be… annoying to some."
Hermione made an uncharacteristic snort. Dumbledore looked at her, and she simply looked back at him. Obviously she was daring him to use Legilimency on her. It was a bit dramatic for a few moments before Sirius barked out laughter.
"Let us cut with the dramatics, Dumbledore!" Sirius said, "I am looking forward to your 'defense'. Perhaps if you're not exhausted after wracking your mind coming up with a plausible defense, I might have a go at you with my own accusations."
Dumbledore frowned then sighed. "Let us begin, Lord Potter."
"You were the one to suggest my parents move out of Potter Manor," Harry said, "Which to my understanding, had a lot of defensive and offensive protections on it, due to its war wards. Why did you advise my parents move out of their well-protected home, into the Godric's Hollow Cottage? Which, by the way, we now know was quite vulnerable."
"Let me begin with a little story for you, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said. "During the height of the war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, I formed a – well, there is no better word for it – vigilante group - that would fight against the Dark Lord and his followers. It was called the Order of the Phoenix. Lord Black and Professor McGonagall here, were a part of it, as was your parents, and Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, among many others. Professor Moody was also a member.
"In the last couple years of the world, the seeds of paranoia and fear grew. Brothers were fighting brothers, friends were fighting friends. Many people didn't know who to trust. People were joining the Death Eaters. People were falling under the Imperius Curse. The fear of your family member, loved one, or friend being impersonated, through Polyjuice Potion, by an enemy was a very real thing.
"To my great regret, mistrust grew inside the ranks of the Order. We had a traitor in the ranks."
"Peter Pettigrew," Harry muttered, as Sirius snarled.
"Yes, though we did not know that at the time," Dumbledore said. "Accusations of betrayal were whispered in conversations. I believe at some point, your godfather and Remus Lupin's names even came up. Remus is, as you know, a werewolf – Voldemort was recruiting werewolves, promising them a better life when he became victorious. Sirius Black here – his family wasn't exactly the nicest of people."
"They were Dark as they come, Dumbledore, no need to censor yourself!" Sirius growled. "My cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange is in Azkaban, one of Voldemort's greatest followers, and the reason Augusta Longbottom is Regent Lady, instead of her son, Frank, being Lord Longbottom. Another cousin, Narcissa Black became Narcissa Malfoy, married to Lucius Malfoy, and mother to Draco Malfoy, whom I have heard you're very familiar with."
Harry, of course, knew this about the Malfoys, but he let Sirius act as if he did not.
"So, naturally, I was painted Black too," Sirius muttered, "Which, of course, would lead to why most of our society thought I betrayed your parents."
"Yes," Dumbledore said, sighing, "Well, of course, I was afraid that a close friend of your parents, Lord Potter, was the spy and traitor. I was afraid that the traitor was someone who knew the details of the protections around Potter Manor. Therefore, Voldemort and his Death Eaters could destroy the wards, get into Potter Manor and ambush you and your parents while you slept, without your parents even knowing. This is exactly what I told your parents. Your father suggested you move to the cottage in Godric's Hollow. It wasn't a well-known residence of the Potters. Your father and grandfather had rented it out to people – mostly Muggles, as the village was a mix of magical and Muggle residents. Not very many people in our society knew of the house. There was some debating of course. Your mother wanted to leave Great Britain altogether."
"Then why didn't we?" Harry asked; knowing they could have gone to Isle Potter.
"Your father was still involved in the war, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said. "Even your mother helped, even though she was so dedicated to you. She made Potions that helped the Order. James convinced her that they should stay. If Voldemort was targeting them and their friends, he didn't want to leave and come back to find his friends dead. I know James and Lily argued about this for days, before it was finally agreed."
"That is why they didn't use a Secret Keeper for most of the time they were there," Sirius said. "Lily didn't want to have a Secret Keeper at risk, if they decided to one day get up and leave Great Britain."
"As you know by now," Harry said, "I opened my parents' Final Will and Testament. The will says Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper, and Sirius was my Godfather by the Godfather Ritual. You knew this, because you were the Witness in the Will."
"You were also the one who cast the Fidelius Charm, Dumbledore," Sirius said.
"And yet you sent Sirius to Azkaban without a trial even though you knew he didn't betray my parents," Harry said.
"That was not why he was sent to Azkaban in the first place, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said. "It was believed he breached the Statute of Secrecy, our most important law, when it was believe he killed Pettigrew and those Muggles. The Minister at the time, Millicent Bagnold put pressure on me and Bartemius Crouch to handle the breach before the International Confederation of Warlocks decided to barge in on us. Bagnold didn't like the ICW, I will tell you that. They made a few laws that she did not like. She didn't want them interfering with her role as British Minister of Magic. So Sirius was sent to Azkaban, so the ICW wouldn't come in and make the whole thing worse.
"Lord Potter, your godfather might be dead today if the ICW came in. There is a little known fact that the ICW has hit-wizards five times more dangerous than our own hit-wizards at the Ministry. They will not interfere with what they call a Civil War – the troubles between Voldemort and the Light. But they will enforce the Statute of Secrecy."
Dumbledore removed his glasses and rubbed his nose. "I believe it was an ICW hit-wizard who murdered my friends, Molly Weasley and Dedalus Diggle."
"You've kept that a secret!" Minerva accused.
"Of course I have," Dumbledore said, putting his glasses back on, "You do not want to mess with their hit-wizards. If the Wizengamot asked me to bring the ICW hit-wizards in to deal with Voldemort, I would not do it. They would see our war as a possible world-wide breach of the Statute of Secrecy and would destroy the British magical society just to kill Voldemort and his followers, if it meant they were protecting the Statute."
"Wouldn't the ICW have discovered Sirius was innocent though?" Hermione asked, "Surely they would have interrogated him? Heard his side of the story?"
"It is possible, but not guaranteed, Heiress Dagworth-Granger," Dumbledore said.
"Let us move on to the night my parents died," Harry said. "Why was Hagrid at the cottage in Godric's Hollow? Why was he there before Sirius? How did he know about what had happened?"
"Why did you believe he could even see the House, as Pettigrew hadn't told him the Secret?" Sirius asked.
"I put an alarm enchantment on the Godric's Hollow Cottage in cause of nefarious spells and intruders," Dumbledore said, "I kept the connecting rune in the pocket of my robes. I was at the Halloween Feast that year when it happened. When the alarm rune went off, I sent what is known as a Patronus messenger to Hagrid, and asked him to go to Godric's Hollow. I told him I suspected the Potters had been attacked, and that if there were survivors, he was to take them to a safe-house for a night, until I gave him further instructions.
"Lord Black, I am sure you're wondering why he wouldn't give Harry to you. You know Hagrid trusts me implicitly, more than anyone, of which I am grateful and thankful for. I, unfortunately, told Hagrid you might be a danger – not to the Potters, perhaps – but to yourself. From what Hagrid told me, he thought you were a threat – not to Harry, but to yourself – in your grief. He wanted to take Harry to me until you calmed down."
"Then why did you send me to the Dursleys?" Harry asked. "You knew my parents forbid me to go there. You knew I had several Guardians assigned for me! Professor McGonagall was one of my assigned guardians!"
"Something I did not know then," McGonagall said.
Dumbledore sighed. "As I told you, Lord Potter, there was a lot of mistrust going on. People were going over to Voldemort every day. I didn't know if any members in the Great Alliance had been turned. Let me give you this scenario. Imagine for a moment. If one single person in the Great Alliance had been turned, Lord Potter. Just one. And your guardian at the time informed this person that you were their new ward. What if this person told the other Death Eaters? You would have been in danger again. For example, the Longbottoms – Alice Longbottom, your godmother, was the next assigned Guardian after your godfather. They were attacked a few days later. Sirius was in Azkaban, and now your godmother was attacked.
"I felt justified, Lord Potter. I felt quite justified that I had made the proper decision. Your parents trusted too many people at a time they shouldn't have. They trusted Pettigrew, he betrayed them. They might have voiced their doubt in their Will, and yet they still let him be their Secret Keeper. Does that not tell you they were being foolish with their trust?
"Now, out of everyone, Lord Potter, who was close your parents who could not be Death Eaters?"
"My relatives," Harry muttered.
"Muggles, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said. "Not very many people in our society know about your relatives. I made sure of that. Trust me… it was the safest place for you to be."
"Then why did you and Madam Pomfrey have to visit the Dursleys so many times to save my life?" Harry argued, "Oh, yes, Headmaster. I remember that… clearly. If I didn't know better, I'd say Madam Pomfrey was under the Imperius Curse when you brought her."
McGonagall gasped. "Is this true, Albus?
"She wasn't under an Imperius, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said, "Merely a Confundus Charm so she couldn't remember where you lived. A part of your protection, of course."
"Protect me from the outside, not from the inside, is it?" Harry asked.
"You would not be here today if I did not protect you from the inside, Lord Potter," Dumbledore argued. "When your relatives got too violent, I used magic to change their behavior. But only because I could not remove you from their presence, and give you to another – someone your parents assigned, for example. Again, I did not know if one of your family Allies had been converted to the Death Eaters. The Dursleys – no matter what they did to you – was the best place for you to be. It is the reason you are alive today."
"Why did you put so many blocks and bindings on me?" Harry asked. "I can understand the binding on my magical core. You didn't want me to do too much accidental magic around my relatives, who hate magic. What about the others ones? Okay, maybe the Metamorphmagus Ability was also understandable, given that it was such an ability that nearly caused my Uncle to kill me."
"What?!" Sirius asked, "You didn't tell me that."
"It is handled, Sirius," Harry said. "Why the other blocks and bindings, Headmaster? Natural Occlumency, and Legilimency? Eidetic Memory? My Willpower? My Animagus form?"
"Let's start with the Animagus form," Dumbledore said, "I would have unblocked that one in a few years. I didn't want you to get any ideas as you are truly your father's son. You might have endangered yourself. As for the others…"
"You wanted your pet Potions Master to be able read my mind so you could know what I was up to," Harry said, "And when he couldn't do it, you had someone else spy on me. Ronald Weasley was your spy on me, was he not? That was why he was chosen to be my friend? Aside from the fact that for some reason, you wanted me married to Ginny Weasley. That Contract you penned five days after my parents died. It is destroyed by the way. I was given a copy that, if destroyed, would destroy all copies."
"The Weasleys were – are – very good friends of mine, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said. "I wanted a family who was my friends to be close to you. That contract between you and Miss Weasley… there were no Provisos on it. It was a very open-ended contract. In fact, if you had ended up wanting to marry another girl, I would have had the contract destroyed.
"Here is one thing I will admit to as a crime. Something that has already been remedied by your Account Manager. I allowed Molly Weasley to take money from your Trust Vault, because she needed money to pay for her children's education. Without that money, the Weasleys wouldn't have gone to school here. In fact, they might have been home-schooled all their lives. I had hoped you might forgive them, and me, if you ended up with Ginny Weasley. It did not end up that way, unfortunately. For that, I do admit to stealing from you. The money has been returned to your possession.
"Yes, it was arranged for Ron Weasley to be friends with you. However, I can only take partial blame when it comes to various Blocks such as willpower and Eidetic Memory. You see, Ronald was complaining to his mother that you were too smart, too bookish. He didn't think he could be your friend anymore. So his mother came to me with a plan. I agreed to it, yes. I admit that. Because Molly was my friend, I agreed to put blocks and bindings on you. The Occlumency and Legilimency blocks were requested by Professor Snape, naturally. The others, were requested by Molly Weasley.
"I believe, recently – in the days leading to their arrests - you saw the true Ronald and Ginevra Weasley. The Ron and Ginny they were keeping from you. If you weren't Ron's friend – he would have been like that throughout these past four years. He, Ginny, and your Mother seemed to have this big plan for you. Ginny would marry you and claim your fortune after you died somehow. Whether it be murder, made to look accidental. Whether it be a poisonous Potion. Who knows?
"I created the Betrothal because I wanted you to have a good Light family for friends when you returned to our society. It turns out that three of those family members were really bad seeds."
Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his nose. "I may have created a monster or three the day I offered the Contract to Molly Weasley. Because of the Contract, she turned her two youngest children into those – no better word for it – monsters you saw recently after you and the Heiress here became a couple. Ginny's jealousy unleashed that monster. Ron's jealousy that the Heiress was your best friend turned him into the monster he was. Maybe the monsters were always there. Maybe they were plotting secretly, but able to hide themselves. Because they wanted to hide it from you, as part of the plan. But as you know, recently it came out. And now Molly Weasley is dead and her children have suffered a fate worse than Azkaban because of a mother's greed."
Harry didn't know what to believe right now. Dumbledore's story that Molly wanted those blocks and bindings on him was a bit believable, was it not? After all, she was responsible for all those Potions he had been dosed with, was he not?
"What about me?" Hermione asked. "Was Molly and Snape responsible for the blocks and bindings on me?"
"Your magical core had one binding on it, because with your full power, you could hurt your parents accidentally," Albus said. "The Animagus ability was for the same reason as Lord Potter. You are very smart, Miss Granger. Sometimes, too smart. I didn't want you to harm yourself if you decided you wanted to impress Professor McGonagall and try to become an Animagus too early. The other blocks were all Professor Snape and Molly's requests. yes."
"And what about the Obliviations?" Harry asked. "You modified our memories when it came to that Halloween night in our first year!"
"I did," Dumbledore said, "Ronald Weasley begged me to. He thought you would no longer be his friend. He made a mistake that day. More than one. He asked me to make it look like he helped you and Heiress Dagworth-Granger. It was a burden I had. A burden of friendship for the Weasleys. It is a heavy burden, friendship. It can heal and harm, it can cause hate and love. And yet we need it more than life itself sometimes. We would die for our friends, would we not, Lord Potter, Lord Black?"
"Yes," Harry said, "We would. Headmaster, I must be honest with you. I am having trouble wondering how much you have told us tonight to be the honest truth. I don't know if I should believe it, or consider it hippogriff dung. Frankly, Headmaster, I am finding it difficult to decide whether or not I should ever trust you again. You've lied to me so many times. You've kept so many things from me. My Emancipation is the most important, of course.
"You kept all my mail from me too. Fan-mail I am okay with being blocked. Who knows how many hex-letters and Howlers I could have gotten. But the correspondence from Gringotts? Do you know how much trouble you could have caused, not only for me, but for Houses Potter and Peverell if Keeper Ragnok had not forgiven me for not communicating with him over the years? Do you know what that would have done for me? I would have been responsible for none of it. You would have, Headmaster. How can I trust you now, when you have put me in so much danger?
"And then there is something I cannot forgive. You put Hermione, my girlfriend, the person I love more than life itself, in danger too. Do not lie to me, sir. You were planning on putting her at the bottom of the lake for the Second Task."
"Ronald Weasley was my first choice, actually," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, "But yes, she would have been my choice, had the Task continued as it was meant to be. I still say that all the hostages would have been fine."
"You're the only one who believes that, Albus," Minerva said. "And Director Bones would have been right to arrest you for kidnapping."
"How can I trust you if I cannot forgive you for hurting – not just me – but Hermione?" Harry asked, "And Sirius as well? How can I trust you ever again?"
"I understand this, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said, "I truly do. I have caused you a lot of pain. I have caused those you love a lot of pain. I can only hope to begin to amend this right now. And I can begin with one simple thing. I can answer a question you asked me at the end of your first year. Do you remember, Lord Potter? It was after you saved the Philosopher's Stone from Professor Quirrell? We were in the Hospital Wing?"
"I asked you why Voldemort is so interested in me," Harry said, "And you refused to answer me."
"I did," Dumbledore said, "I told you that you were not old enough to understand the answer to that question. While I do not believe you're old enough now, it seems that others do not agree with me, since you have been considered Emancipated by magic herself. Therefore, it is time I answer that question.
"Do you want the answer, Lord Potter? Do you want to know why Voldemort targeted your parents and you that Halloween night thirteen years ago? Why he is so very interested in you?
"Do you want to know why you are the Boy-Who-Lived?"
Harry stared at Dumbledore for a moment. He had not expected this. He had not expected, when he and Hermione had planned for this conversation, that Dumbledore would volunteer to answer this most important question. He could only say one word:
"Yes."
You know… I almost had Harry said "No", because it might be interesting. But it would mess up my plans. So what did you think? So many questions here? How much of Dumbledore's explanations are Hippogriff Dung? I will say this. I loved writing Dumbledore in this chapter. It was so fun.
Did I miss out on anything? Should I have brought up anything else? I am sorry Hermione wasn't involved in the Dumbledore discussion much. It was mostly between Harry and Dumbledore, with Sirius added a bit to it.
There's your Betrothal Rings, for those of you wondering if they would appear.
There's your Viktor Krum explanation, for those of you wondering what was going on with him.
Will ICW Hit-wizards play a bigger role in this story? It is a possibility. We'll see. It wouldn't be until "Book 3" if we do.
Next Chapter: Dumbledore reveals the Prophecy. Then a time-skip to the Christmas Day, and the morning of the Yule Ball. The Yule Ball will be in Chapter 36!