Harry finished writing the final answer on the History of Magic final and was amazed at how easy it was. Most of the questions and answers were word for word the same as some of the example questions in the textbook. It felt a little like cheating, but after some hesitation Harry wrote down the textbook answer word for word. Everyone knew about his perfect memory, so it wasn’t like they would accuse him of anything. The Practical spellcasting components for transfigurations and charms had been much harder, but Harry had managed to do fairly well despite only having two months to learn everything. He got bonus points for silently casting everything, so that helped his score at least.
Harry walked out of the great hall after finishing and turning in his exam early. He was the first one finished, even Hermione sitting there furiously scribbling on the essay questions. Two Aurors in blue stood outside guarding the doors and nodded at Harry as he walked by them. Apparently many students and parents had been up in arms at the Ministry Aurors remaining at the school for so long. Something about Hogwarts independence to be run by the board of Governors and the Headmaster alone without government interference… But the Ministry had still not managed to get inside the chamber despite all the experts they had brought in.
Not that Harry minded, he had gone back down there a few more times to talk to Salazar’s painting some more and start reading part of the library in the sanctum. The books in there covered branches of magic that Harry had never heard of before. It was interesting if still far above his level at the moment.
And after Hermione introduced Harry to Dobby, he hired the elf to deliver some food to the Nidhogg over the summer using Harry’s gold. Dobby could apparate directly inside the chamber once Harry brought him inside for the first time. The elf had been scared at first but had been happy to get Harry’s money for such little work in apparating straight from the butchers to the Chamber before leaving again.
Nidhogg was happy to finally get some real food after what he said was hundreds of years of only being fed scraps. His eye was getting healed slowly but according to Salazar the bandages would have to remain on for months still before things were fully fixed.
Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snapes trial had been pushed into the summer after some of the lawyers started arguing they needed more time to collect more evidence. The trial was world wide news and Harry couldn’t walk through the hallways without hearing someone talking about it. Harry hadn’t let his mind be examined again, and luckily they couldn’t force him to do so again, so the trial had to rely on the testimony of the two Aurors that had examined Harry at St. Mungo’s.
Harry sat around and waited around for his friends to finish as he played around with tossing his wand into the air and catching it again. The doors opened again and a wave of students came rushing out, all looked rather worn out from their tests.
Ron and Neville looked rather worn down as Hermione looked satisfied, and Harry went to greet them. “Hey, Harry. I think I did pretty well on that test,” Hermione said, “But what about the third essay question, I was wondering about…”
Harry gave Hermione what he had put and Neville or Ron chimed in occasionally to groan or grumbled about how easy the two of them had it for tests. They got back to the common room and after a little bit. Hermione went to talk to Ginny, apparently Ginny would be visiting Hermione for a little while over the summer.
Neville had offered Harry to come over as well for a week or two, which Harry was sure he would enjoy. But now that exams were over Harry had to confront the fact that he would have to deal with the Dursleys again over the summer. Something he didn’t particularly want to do. Harry hesitated, but after some hesitation he left the common room after some brief goodbyes to his friends.
He had to get adult advice on this. And the only adult Harry might be able to trust was Flitwick. Who knows what someone in the Ministry might tell Harry to do if he asked them things. They already considered him a sort of troublemaker from what he had overheard the Aurors in the hallways saying before they noticed he was there.
Harry knocked on Flitwick's door.
“Come in,” the man said a second later in his squeaky voice.
Harry walked inside and saw the half goblin man writing something on his desk.
He raised his brows after he saw Harry and put his quill back into his inkwell.
“Harry Potter?” The man said, “As I live and breathe, You are the last person I expected to see. How were exams? I’m sure you had no trouble with them with your memory. A quality any Ravenclaw in my house would die for. Sit, sit.”
Harry sat down in the chair opposite Flitwick.
“Now, what brings you here, Harry?” Flitwick asked, “I’m surprised you came here right from your final exams.”
“Well, Professor,” Harry began, “I wanted to ask some personal questions to an adult. And I think you are the only professor I can trust. I might have trusted McGonagall before, but if she was involved in the memory charm on me then…”
Flitwick frowned and shook his head, “Now, that’s a nasty business Harry. I’m sorry you had to experience that, truly. I would reserve judgment until the facts are fully known after the trial this summer. I refuse to believe that McGonagall would ever allow such a thing to happen.”
Harry frowned slightly, “Not Dumbledore or Snape? Only McGonagall?”
Flitwick nodded resolutely, “I have known all three of them for many years. Both Snape and Dumbledore would be willing to compromise themselves if they believed it served a larger goal. McGonagall is a woman of a different character, uncompromising in what she believes is right. But I truly didn’t think either of those men would ever go that far… Only McGonagall has no direct evidence connecting her to the event. Something I’m sure you know yourself very well.”
“That’s true,” Harry agreed, “I hope she wasn’t involved, she was a good teacher.”
“Indeed, indeed,” Flitwick said thoughtfully, “Now! You had some questions for me? We shouldn’t get too sidetracked.”
“Yes, Professor. It’s about my living situation for this summer,” Harry said, “I was wondering if I could… not live with my Aunt and Uncle. Maybe rent a place for the summer? Can I do that? I have enough money in the Potter vault to do so if I can convince my manager to give me the funds. If I can figure out who that is. Oh, and can I remove Dumbledore as my guardian? Obviously I don’t trust him, so it would be best if he didn’t have any power over me.”
Flitwick’s eyes widened, “Emancipation, that’s… well usually that’s only possible at fifteen. I can see why you’d want to do so, but the better option is to transfer custody of you to someone else. What about the Longbottoms? Alice and Frank have sung your praise whenever I see them. I’m sure they would be more than happy to take you in, especially given their anger at Dumbledore after hearing about what he is accused of doing to you.”
“You know the Longbottoms well?” Harry asked, “I didn’t know that.”
“Yes, indeed I do,” Flitwick said, “Both bright students in my charms class back in the day. I was glad to hear that they had recovered from their insanity. I was quite close with them before the last war and their eventual fate over a decade ago. A fate that you reversed, Harry. Thank you for that.”
“You are welcome,” Harry said, “I’m not sure. I’ve only met them a few times, I feel like I hardly know either of them. I’m not sure how I feel about having them as my guardians. I don’t want to burden them.”
Flitwick chuckled and shook his head, “Harry, Harry. They would be more than happy to have you. Don’t you worry about them. I assure you they really are the best option if you want to transfer custody away from Dumbledore. If you wish then it would only be a formality for legal matters. Anything further would be between you and them. But I have to ask, why don’t you want to stay with your Aunt and Uncle? Transfer of custody and these other matters take time to process, especially if Dumbledore doesn’t let you go quietly. No matter what decision you make, you will have to stay with them for a time. ”
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“They are rather cruel and my cousin Dudley constantly calls me a freak and throws things at me,” Harry said, “After realizing that not all people are that way after coming here, I’d rather not go back to that kind of situation.”
Flitwick leaned forward, “Your cousin is rather unpleasant and calls you names. I understand that, I had to endure much the same from my peers when I was a boy. Why do you say they are cruel? What about your Aunt and Uncle?”
“Both of them hated me,” Harry said, “When I was seven years old, Dudley pushed me down the stairs and I broke my right arm in a few places. When I didn’t cry, my Uncle Vernon refused to take me to hospital and said I was making it up. It was only when I passed out from the pain that they brought me to the urgent care building rather than a real hospital. I was given a splint there and my Aunt and Uncle refused to give me the painkillers they gave us afterwards because I wasn’t in visible pain according to them. They used them for Dudley when he scraped his arm at the playground the next week. After we got home from the urgent care, Dudley was given candy and I was locked in my room for three days for ‘costing them good money for medical bills’.”
Harry continued calmly as Flitwick remained frozen, staring at Harry in shock.
“I have received thirty seven black eyes from Aunt Petunia swinging pans wildly while she knew I was in the kitchen with her to help on her orders,” Harry said, “After I was hit she never apologized and I was frequently punished for being in the way. She even stepped on me once on her way to the stove while I was stunned on the floor from her blow. My chest was severely bruised for a week after that. It was only when I was nine and started becoming good at household chores that either of them stopped hating me so much, and now they barely treat me like a person and instead want me to cook or clean for them all the time. Dudley still frequently throws things at me and is cruel, but my Aunt and Uncle are more disinterested than actively malicious these days. At least they were last year or two before I came to Hogwarts. Perhaps something has changed in the year I was in my coma. I had never received a birthday or Christmas present in my life before I came to Hogwarts.”
Flitwick kept staring at Harry, “That… that was much worse than I was expecting. Harry, why didn’t you tell anyone about any of this? Surely you must know that you could have seeked help for this much earlier? Told someone in the staff, even one of your friends about it? I promise I’ll do my best to get you away from them and to somewhere more safe.”
“I could have?” Harry asked in surprise, “But I told my teachers when I was younger and all they did was tell my Uncle about it and I got punished by being locked in the closet again. Aren’t you not supposed to tell people about what goes on at your house unless people ask specifically about it? And I haven’t had friends before, is that the kind of thing I should be sharing with them?”
Flitwick sagged down and looked like he had aged a decade, “Harry…”
“Are you okay, Professor?” Harry asked in concern, “What did I say? You look very tired all of a sudden.”
“Sorry, Harry. I truly didn’t know what you’ve been through. Albus was supposed to check on you, make sure that such things could never happen…” Flitwick said, “I’ll deal with all the forms, you won’t have to go back there. Given what you’ve told me, I’m sure that Alice and Frank will be more than happy to host you in the meantime.”
Harry nodded, “Thank you, Professor. I would like that very much.”
Harry went to leave, but Flitwick stopped him, “Wait, Harry! I’ve just had a thought. Everything that those people have done to you, do you remember it in full?”
“Yes?” Harry asked, “I do.”
“I realize it may be difficult for you, but would you be willing to write it all down? I don’t want to have to bother you with this any more than necessary,” Flitwick peered at Harry intently, “Especially given how… sensitive it must be for you. I don’t want you to have to rehash this in the presence of an unfamiliar Auror given what you’ve told me. If you write it all down then I can show others your writings rather than disturbing you.”
Flitwick rifled through his desk and pulled out a large piece of parchment. Harry thought about it and considered it for a moment as Flitwick put it down on his desk.
“I’m not sure how much you think is important,” Harry said thoughtfully, “But I think the worst examples would fill about three or four of parchments that size. If you remove my cousin Dudley’s bullying then perhaps I could fit it all on that one piece.”
“That’s… I will get more parchment for you as we go,” Flitwick said with a hitch in his voice, “Just put any moment you remember where your Aunt, Uncle, or Cousin did something related to you that you did not like. I can sort out what is important and what isn’t after we are done.”
Harry grabbed the offered quill and began to write.
“Should I write the dates too?” Harry asked, “Especially my earlier in my life most are estimates as I was not told how long some of my punishments lasted and they were often in rooms with no windows.”
“Ye-Yes, just put an estimate,” Flitwick squeaked before hunting in his desk for more paper, “Oh, I’m sorry. Before we begin…”
Flitwick reached out to the parchment and drew a little box in the bottom left corner of it and drew a complicated pattern inside it, “I am considering this a legal document, so after you are done writing you will infuse your magic into this little box here. That will prevent the parchment from being changed after you are done and verify that you are the person who wrote it through your magical signature. If someone else added something, then an expert could check and prove to everyone the truth.”
Harry nodded, he would do all of this so he wouldn’t have to stay at the Dursleys. He could stand writing a few pages to avoid that. Lets see, his first unpleasant memory… was four months after his first memories. After what Harry now knew was after he had been switched with his doppleganger that had been with the Dursleys before then. Had he been, activated? Born? By James Kensit, before then? Was he missing memories from before he arrived at the Dursleys?
But now Harry had to focus on what the Dursleys had done to him. Harry started writing at the very top,
‘Age Three, four months - Aunt Petunia forgot to feed me for a day after she punished me by locking me in one of their closets upstairs. She apologized when she remembered, as she said she had forgotten about me rather than it being an intentional punishment.’
— — —
‘Age Three, ten months - Dudley hit me with a block nine times in a row as Uncle Vernon watched on. My face was scraped and I bled a little as the corner of the block was sharp. When I hit Dudley back in retaliation, my Uncle punished me by forcing me to clean a toilet. It was difficult as I could barely see over the rim of the bowl given how short I was at the time, but Uncle Vernon wouldn’t let me leave until it was fully clean.’
— — —
“D-Don’t forget to verify this one, too, Harry,” Flitwick said, reading the first two sheets that Harry had made over and over. Harry put his thumb over the mark and it glowed brightly for a few seconds. Then the light cut off and the parchment was sealed with the little glowing box in the corner showing that it was done. Harry continued writing on his next parchment.
‘Age Seven, two months, ten days, roughly 8 pm. A drunk Uncle Vernon went on a fifteen minute rant on how I am a curse on his family and how he’s glad that my parents are dead as Dudley and Aunt Petunia watched on silently. He eventually lost interest after I did not react how he wanted and he went to the bathroom. With him gone, I went to bed and he did not mention it the next day at breakfast.’
— — —
‘Age eleven, one month, five days, 4 pm. Uncle Vernon spent ten minutes lecturing me on how I was so abnormal that I wouldn’t even fit in at Hogwarts with the ‘lesser freaks’ as he put it. He seemed torn between being happy that I was going away and reluctant for me to be among other wizards learning magic.’
Harry wrote a few more entries until he had reached right until when he first came to Hogwarts and had finished. His hand was cramped and he shook it out after writing for so long. Flitwick’s face was ashen as he read through the list Harry had created.
Harry had underestimated the volume of the entries, he had ended up using six full pieces of parchment and part of the one he had just finished. Harry put his thumb to the seal at the bottom of the final piece and it flashed and formed the glowing seal. Harry handed the parchment to Flitwick who accepted it with a far off look in his eye.
Flitwick read through it and then shuffled it to the bottom of the stack without another word. “To have it all laid out like that…” Flitwick said faintly.
He looked up to Harry and looked determined, “I’ll make sure you never go back there, Harry. I’ll go to the ministry today and… sort this all out. Thank you for coming to me. I can’t bear any student of mine living like this… I’ll head out immediately. Just let me know if you need anything at all. Not all of us teachers are as horrible as those cowards that dared calling themselves as such in your muggle school.”
Harry glanced at the half finished letter on the Professor's desk, “But professor, what about your other work?” Harry asked, “Didn’t you want to finish that first?”
Flitwick glanced at the letter and then back into the parchment in his hands that Harry had just written,
“No, I think I have something more important to deal with. I’ll escort you back to your common room before I go.”
“Thank you, Professor. I probably won’t be attacked again if you are around,” Harry said.
“Don’t you worry, Harry,” Flitwick said as he tucked the parchment into a bag and slung it over his shoulders, “Not to brag, but I was a dueling champion back in my day. I’d like to see the wizard that attempts to take me on even if we get ambushed. Not that I think that would ever happen. Just taking… precautions.”
“That’s good,” Harry said, “It is good to be prepared, I would think.”