Harry walked through the fireplace into the headmaster’s office. He looked around and saw the place was empty besides him and Dumbledore. Not good, the man had erased his memory when Harry was injured last time. Harry was getting out of here.
Best to make it look natural.
“Well, good to be back, Headmaster. I think I’ll go see my friends now, Bye!” Harry said before dashing to the door and darting out before the man could respond. That was probably good enough right? It wasn’t even a lie. Harry quickly ran to the Gryffindor common room, people in the hallways staring at him in confusion as he ran by. Some gasped and whispered as they seemed to recognize him.
None of Harry’s friends were inside the common room and he realized that they must be in class right now. Looking at the clock, Harry realized that they must be in Transfiguration right now. Hopefully it was in the same room as last year.
Harry made his way to the class and tried to quietly open the door and slip in. Everyone inside was leaning over their desks practicing their spellwork. Some looked up and froze, gasping as they saw Harry standing there. He waved at them silently, not wanting to disrupt the class too much. He knew how much McGonagall valued order in her classroom.
The woman herself was on the other side of the room and hadn’t noticed him yet. Harry looked around and saw that the only empty seats were flanked on either side by Slytherins. That wouldn’t be pleasant…
Harry eventually just stood to the side and waited as the muttering grew louder and louder as more and more people noticed him. Ron and Neville were focused, and McGonagall was saying something to them right now.
After casting another spell, Neville looked up after letting out a sigh. McGonagall said something to him, but Neville didn’t respond, frozen as his eyes met Harry’s. Harry waved to him and Neville silently waved back at him, his eyes as wide as saucers. Ron and McGonagall matched Neville’s look and both of them looked shocked as well, Ron more than McGonagall. Ron’s jaw was practically on the floor and Ron’s wand almost fell from his hand as he was distracted by staring at Harry. Harry shot another look around the room. Where was Hermione? Why wasn’t she in class?
Harry walked over and the whole room was staring at him now, not even whispering now as they waited to see what would happen. Harry stopped a few steps away and peered over and matched the diagram of Ron’s open textbook to Harry’s memories of it.
Everyone waited with bated breath,
“Wood to gold was rather difficult when I practiced it,” Harry said, “I imagine it must be much harder when having to shape finer details on a transfigured object as well.”
Ron choked and everyone in the room blinked at Harry’s words, “Ha-Harry. You’re back! You’re awake! Is this even real?” Neville stammered out.
Harry patted himself down and pinched his arm to test it, “I think so, guys. I’m told it has been a while. How have you been?”
Before either of them could respond, Professor McGonagall interrupted with a sharp tone. “Mr. Potter. As overjoyed we all are to see you and have you back, you should be discussing things with the Headmaster from what I’ve been told. Why are you in my classroom right now?”
Harry shrugged, “Sorry Professor, I didn’t mean to disrupt class. I just didn’t want to wait on meeting my friends. I suppose I got over excited at seeing them again.”
“Hmmmm,” McGonagall hummed skeptically as she seemed to compare his usual calm tone with his words. ‘Excited’ was not a term most people would ever associate with Harry Potter.
The doors to the class opened and Dumbledore strode in, his long beard hanging down in front of him.
“Harry! I can see you are eager to see your friends again. But certain things should be discussed in my office rather than around the prying ears of your fellow students… Perhaps we should go back there to discuss, Hmmm?”
Some of the onlookers looked away from watching the confrontation at the headmaster’s words, although none of them did so for more than a second or two.
“I’m okay, Headmaster. I would rather catch up in my classes and talk to my friends when I can. I’m sure they will tell me everything I need to know,” Harry said.
“Be that as it may, I still have things I wish to tell you regarding your transition back to school, so I must insist I’m afraid,” Dumbledore said.
“No thank you,” Harry said, trying to remain polite but now struggling on how to keep refusing if Dumbledore was going to be insistent. Harry thought about inviting McGonagall to protect him in the office, but even that might not work. Harry’s restored memory had shown Snape being complicit in the whole thing last time. If Snape was in on it then why wouldn’t McGonagall be in on it too? For all Harry knew she would wipe his memories herself if she detected Harry remembered what had really happened.
The rest of the classroom’s eyes darted rapidly between Harry and the Headmaster as each of them spoke, their mouths open as they watched Harry refuse the great Dumbledore.
Dumbledore’s eyes narrowed, “Mr. Potter. I am only asking to help you and have a little chat, there is no need to be so stubborn about it.”
Harry opened his mouth and glanced at McGonagall who was watching their confrontation with interest and a little confused at Harry’s behavior. The rest of class watched on as well. Harry tried to get Dumbledore to back down one more time.
“I don’t really feel comfortable doing that, Headmaster,” Harry said, “I’d really just prefer to just dive right back into things immediately.”
“Harry Potter,” Dumbledore said, his eyes narrowing even more as he peered at him, “I don’t know where this sudden disrespect is coming from, but if you do not come for even something this simple then I will be forced to assign you a week’s detention.”
Harry brightened slightly, the solution to his problems! “Yes, Headmaster. Please do that then,” Harry said.
Dumbledore blinked, seeming genuinely shocked, “What?”
“Please give me detention, Headmaster,” Harry clarified, “I’d rather do that than go with you right now.”
“Truly?” The man said, seeming confused, “You would rather take detention rather than leaving this classroom?”
“Yes,” Harry said simply in reply.
“Very well, then. You have your week’s detention,” Dumbledore replied, “We will discuss the exact terms of your punishment… in my office. Please come with me now or see your detention stretch even longer.”
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Harry considered. Was there really no way to convince Dumbledore to let him go? It seems that even Harry serving a long detention wouldn’t stop the man from trying to drag him back up there into the isolated office. This was far too suspicious, many of the other students were giving the Headmaster odd looks now to match their confusion for Harry’s behavior. After a few seconds' consideration, Harry let out a small sigh. He only had one option left.
“No. I would like to have my memories remain intact, thank you very much,” Harry replied.
Everyone in the room was stunned, and you could hear a pin drop in the room at Harry’s words.
“What did you say?” Dumbledore said, “Are you saying that I would use a memory charm on you? Perhaps we should take you for a more thorough evaluation at St. Mungo’s…”
“No, I’m saying you already did. The last thing I remember before I went into my coma is you standing over me with your wand glowing,” Harry said to the gasps of his audience, including McGonagall, “And now my memories of that day are fuzzy now. With my perfect memory nothing is ever a fuzzy memory on me. You must have cast a memory charm on me.”
All technically true, although Dumbledore had completed the job. Only James Kensit’s work had retrieved these ‘fuzzy’ memories, as Harry called them, back into his mind. Otherwise Harry might have never known what had really happened. Dumbledore seemed stunned, seemingly unable to process Harry’s sudden accusation against him.
“Mr. Potter, do you know what you are accusing the Headmaster of?” McGonagall said behind him, “If this is true then casting that spell on a student would be a crime with a punishment of up to dozens of years locked up in Azkaban. I think it's ridiculous to suggest that the Headmaster would be capable of such a thing.”
Harry shrugged, “That’s what I saw. So I’m not going anywhere alone with him where he could do anything else to my memories. I did try to refuse politely at first, he’s the one that forced me to tell everyone about it.”
The students around the room began to mutter in low tones. There was a tense pause as no one else spoke, not even Dumbledore to defend himself.
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake. All this drama!" McGonagall said eventually, "Mr. Potter, you, me, and the Headmaster are going straight to St. Mungo’s and they’ll check the relevant memories for tampering with your permission. I’m sure you believe what you’ve been saying, but whoever cast the memory charm is likely framing the Headmaster for this. The staff there can clean up this whole mess without any more wild accusations.”
“Quite right, they will prove my innocence. It will quickly clear up this matter,” Dumbledore said, his tone a little strained as he spoke.
McGonagall opened the room door with a spell and marched forward, with Harry keeping her body between him and Dumbledore. Who knew if the man would cast some silent spell on Harry at the last minute as they walked to his office.
Luckily, Harry made it all the way back to St. Mungo’s with nothing concerning happening to him. Dumbledore seemed a little resigned by the situation, and didn’t seem to be trying anything underhanded at the last minute. Harry had thought the man was considered an upstanding citizen, but casting memory charms on students didn’t match that image.
— — —
Dumbledore and McGonagall watched on as several Aurors from the ministry arrived with the Minister himself. Harry blinked at the man,
“You’ve gotten fatter in the last year, Minister,” Harry said.
Fudge blinked in return and looked down to his protruding gut in surprise. He put his hand over it before looking up, “Ah, I suppose I have, my boy! Perhaps I should buy a few weight loss potions.”
Everyone was giving Harry strange looks. Oh, he probably shouldn’t have said that.
“Sorry, Minister. I probably shouldn't have said that,” Harry quickly said.
“No quite alright, quite alright,” The Minister said, “I have been rather cooped up in my office for the last year. Now, as the Aurors continue to check your mind, how about you tell me why we’re here? It was my understanding that you believe a memory charm was cast on you?”
Harry nodded, and quickly glanced at Dumbledore who was standing closest to the door with a severe frown on his face.
“Yes, by the Headmaster on the day I fell into my coma.”
Fudge’s head whipped around and his eyebrows nearly reached his forehead. “Dumbledore?! This is quite the accusation,” Fudge turned back around to Harry and his eyes focused intently on Harry.
“Now, this is a very sensitive situation. Very sensitive indeed- I think we should call the professionals for this. Jenkins!”
The Minister called out and another Auror came running in from the outside.
“What is it Minister?” The man said.
“Call Amelia Bones. Tell her I want her to personally interview Harry Potter here for a very important case. There can be no doubt for accusations this serious.”
Auror Jenkins gulped, but nodded and went running off to call this Amelia Bones person.
Harry noticed Dumbledore inching closer to the door.
The Minister turned to the two Aurors standing over Harry casting a long series of spells on him.
“Well?” Minister Fudge asked, “Is there evidence of tampering?”
One of the men nodded to the other and stopped casting, leaning back to respond to the Minister.
“Yes, Minister," The Auror said calmly, "As the boy says there is a high distortion on the memories of that day in comparison to the perfect clarity in the rest of his mind. It seems like a botched obliviation charm from what we can tell. We can confirm that the memories show Severus Snape finding the boy and leading to an abandoned classroom. Snape argued with the Headmaster, after which Albus Dumbledore cast a visible spell matching the obliviation charm at the boy. After which there are no further memories of that day. We are checking carefully for alterations or tampering, but so far we have seen no evidence of it. The memories surrounding the actual casting of the charm are especially fragmented, so would be vulnerable to a basic face change or subtle alteration.”
Minister Fudge and seemed shaken and nodded at the Auror. “Very- Very well. Then continue your work. I want to figure out who-”
He glanced at Dumbledore who Harry noticed was almost at the door by now by slowly shifting over the course of the conversation.
“-is framing Dumbledore here.” Fudge finished weakly, a bead of sweat dripping down his brow.
“Very well, Minister,” The Auror said before joining his partner in casting more spells on Harry’s head.
Dumbledore made his move and started walking out of the door casually.
“Albus!” McGonagall called out, “Where are you going?”
“Just going to the bathroom, Minerva. It appears the investigation will take some time, so I’d like to be prepared for the long day I’m sure we have ahead of us,” Dumbledore said.
McGonagall reluctantly backed down and nodded, and Harry noticed the minister becoming even more nervous than before. The man took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his forehead to wipe away his sweat.
“Belstri and Stevens, you go with him,” Minister Fudge said. The two Aurors stared at the Minister questioningly.
“Just do it,” Fudge said, “He’s a suspect, we can’t lose track of him for a moment. We have to do this one strictly by the book.”
“Yes, Minister,” The two men said, nodding before walking away in the direction Dumbledore had left.
They all waited in silence for twenty minutes before a screeching alarm activated. All the Aurors in the room drew their wands and went into high alert.
A young Auror in his twenties ran from down the hallway and burst into the room a minute later, only to have the wands of the entire room pointed at him. He raised his hands so his wand was pointing towards the ceiling.
“Sir! Minister!” The man panted before seeming to collect himself, “It’s Dumbledore, Sir! He’s gone mad, stunned the two Aurors following him and made a run for it. The elevators are locked down but he’s already made his way to the second floor!”
The whole room paused in shock for a moment before they burst into motion.
“Capture him! We can’t let him escape!” Minister Fudge demanded, “Have you alerted the rest of the Ministry? I want this place surrounded before he makes it past the range of the anti-apparition wards…”
The Minister left the room and McGonagall went to follow him. The minister turned and pointed at her as he noticed her following him.
“And detain her and get her away from Harry Potter! I want this room locked down from anyone else that might be in on this!”
McGonagall blinked at the order, but let herself be led out of the room flanked on either side by one of the Aurors. There were three of them left in the room. Five if you included the two that had been checking Harry’s memories before. They had stopped and straightened once the alarm had gone off.
All of them stood around Harry’s bed wands at the ready as the rest ran off to attempt to arrest the most powerful wizard in Britain.
Well, that escalated quickly, Harry thought.