Over the next three days, Harry spent most of his time at the Ministry
of Magic to take his fourth-year exams. Madam Marchbanks was
there as usual and she was ever so pleased when Harry performed
admirably again.
"Very good, Mr Potter," she smiled. "You'll get your results within a
few days. I expect you to perform well in your O.W.L.s, you hear
me?"
"Yes, ma'am," nodded Harry. "I won't let you down."
"I'm sure you won't," chuckled Madam Marchbanks. "Enjoy the rest
of your holidays."
It was the twenty-fourth of December and Black Manor in Scotland
was a beehive of activity. Many influential people of the British
magical world were present for the wedding as it was an important
event. The Lord of the Black family was getting married to the
daughter of the Bones family who was also the Director of the
Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The marriage would most
definitely influence the balance of power and politics in the Ministry
and Wizengamot.
The Floo in the Entrance Hall burst into emerald green flames and
Cornelius Fudge stepped through. When he did, he grimaced at the
sight of Harry Potter standing there with a smile on his face. The
expression on the Minister's face was sour, and it became
immediately clear why he wasn't jovial like the last time he met the
Boy-Who-Lived. News of the Potter scion being a Parselmouth had
travelled far and wide.
"Minister Fudge," Harry greeted him, bowing slightly in respect.
The young wizard was wearing a green shirt, black trousers, a silver
tie and vest and his form-fitting robes were black with silver
highlights, all made of Acromantula silk. Even though he was twelve,
due to wizards maturing faster than Muggles, Harry looked closer to
fifteen years of age. Tall, muscular and calm, he radiated confidence.
"Welcome to Black Manor. I'm very pleased that you have graced
your presence on such an auspicious occasion. Please, this way.
Miss Greengrass will accompany you to your seat."
Daphne was wearing a beautiful emerald green dress with silver
accents, which perfectly matched the colours worn by her fiancé,
looking very beautiful. Like Harry, she too was calm and had a smile
painted on her face. Her movements looked effortlessly graceful, but
one could not ignore the raw magical power growing within her,
shining brightly through her deep-blue eyes. Standing next to each
other, Harry and Daphne looked very regal together and attracted
quite a bit of attention.
"This way, Minister," she said with a smile, as the rest of the
Minister's office followed them.
Many of the guests were in awe of the decorations and splendour
the grounds and manor had to offer. The entire place had been
decorated with red roses, with tiny drops of water on them. While
there was light snow, it didn't fall on them, creating a very beautiful
scene of snow falling from the sky. The food served as appetizers
along with tea was simply delicious. Wide area warming charms
were applied so that the guests would not feel the chill of the winter
evening.
When it was fifteen minutes to seven, Sirius Black adjusted his robes
one final time, took a deep breath, grabbed the goblet containing a
mild Calming Draught and drowned it. Once his expression relaxed,
he nodded to himself and walked out of the room, down the stairs
and into the gardens where the ceremony was to be conducted. As
he walked up to the elevated podium, people clapped. Sirius too was
impeccably dressed, with a white silk shirt, black trousers, silver vest
and tie and black robes with silver accents, all made of very
expensive Acromantula silk, looking every inch the powerful
aristocrat that he was. Amelia was being escorted by her brother,
Susan's father, the only other remaining member of her family, as the
rest had been killed by Voldemort long ago. She was dressed in a
beautiful white dress, with silver accents on it. She didn't look like the
stern Director of British Magical Law Enforcement everyone was
used to; instead, she looked like a woman who was happy that she
was getting married to the love of her life.
Amelia came to stand in front of Sirius. The ceremony, while not
elaborate, went well. After a few simple magical rituals that were
required to be performed at every wizarding marriage, the druid
presiding over the ceremony lifted her wand above them. There was
a flash of light, and Amelia and Sirius's hands glowed where they
were holding each other, signifying that they had been blessed by
Mother Magic. Several twinkling golden stars burst from the witch's
wand over the newly married couple. Harry nodded to a house-elf
that was discreetly standing in the corner, beaming at the union of
her masters. Just when the audience started applauding, magical
fireworks exploded in the air in various colours.
Once the show was over, Harry, Daphne and the others led the
guests inside the manor to the enlarged formal dining room. There
were multiple round tables, with beautiful lanterns and candles
floating in the air for enhanced effects. After a truly delicious meal,
the guests were ushered to the Grand Ballroom where people gave
their gifts to the newly married couple and started dancing and
socialising.
"Is it just me or are people genuinely avoiding Harry this evening?"
asked Elizabeth Greengrass as she danced with her husband. She
had just noticed a group of witches and wizards move away hastily
when they saw Harry coming anywhere close to where they were
standing.
"I know," Cyrus said through gritted teeth. "I feel like punching them
in the face! He's just a twelve-year-old boy. Who cares if he's a
Parselmouth? I certainly don't!"
"Daphne told me that he's facing similar problems at school,"
whispered Elizabeth. "Even some of the teachers do it. I can't
believe adults are targeting a mere child, just because they're
scared!"
"What can we do?"
"Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do. He's not being attacked
or bullied in the traditional sense – though I would disagree with that
– so complaining to the teachers is out. But this is just as bad.
They're acting as though he is a Nundu about to go on a rampage at
any second! We can't force people to talk to him and there lies the
problem. He is painfully shy in talking to strangers as it is and people
do this !"
Cyrus hugged her closer, his eyes filled with concern as he saw
Harry slowly walk back to Daphne. From the distance, he could see
the young wizard's shoulders droop slightly, but it was only for a
moment before he was walking with his back straight, his strides
confident and graceful. Cyrus knew that it was a mask, of course. He
was a keen observer; he knew that Harry was wearing a mask from
the day he had met the boy. That's why he had been careful in
dealing with him, but Harry managed to melt the ice between them
over time. He genuinely cared for the boy and he knew that this
would affect him psychologically. Smart and mature he may be, but
Harry was still a twelve-year-old; an abused twelve-year-old, who
found it difficult to understand his own emotions.
"Maybe we should ask him to stay with us for the rest of the
holidays," Cyrus murmured. "With Sirius and Amelia leaving the
country tomorrow, it's better if he stays with us and not all alone in a
large castle."
"I agree," said Elizabeth.
Harry was unusually quiet when the last of the guests had left. He
had tried to lead them to the Floo, but after the way Minister Fudge,
Rufus Scrimgeour and Augusta Longbottom had acted, he desisted.
He tried to ignore it, but he could actually feel an ache in his chest at
the way people were treating him. He wondered why it felt this bad.
After all, he had lived with the Dursleys for years and had to listen to
them constantly belittle him. The Muggles in the neighbourhood and
at primary school had always ignored him or made snide remarks
about his clothes or parents, but somehow this felt different. In his
heart, he knew why.
It felt different because this was his home .
The magical world was where he belonged and with the people here
treating him like this really hurt. Sirius had explained to him why
Parselmouths were as feared in Europe as they were; there had
been dark wizards in the past who had exploited the magical
language, causing unending chaos. Being quite limited in number,
especially in the western world, there had been very few who had
the power to stop them as Parselmagic was quite different from
conventional magic. Herpo, the foul, was a name which was
remembered even after thousands of years because the after-effects
of his transgressions and results of experiments where he carelessly
broke the sacred laws of magic could be felt to this day .
Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldemort were other well-known
Parselmouths and both of them hadn't helped matters any in trying
to improve the reputation of Parseltongue in Europe. The common
witches and wizards today were honestly terrified of Parselmagic,
thus as an extension, Parselmouths, because in the past, entire
villages had been cursed by dark witches and wizards, bringing
unending agony to the residents.
Sirius had warned Harry to expect backlash and had promised his
godson that he would do his best and stand by him, but Harry had
still not expected adults outside the school to behave like this just
because of their fear of everything Parseltongue. The reason why he
felt so bad was that he had been given a taste of what it would feel
like to be accepted and appreciated by everyone and for it to change
in an instant was something he had never expected. He did realise
something though; fame was fickle. Even though he was the Boy-
Who-Lived, the public would just as easily turn against him as they
flocked to him. It was a lesson to him, but he had learnt it the hard
way.
He was quite surprised by Elizabeth Greengrass' offer for him to stay
with them for the rest of the holidays. He refused, though. From past
experience, he knew it was dangerous for him to stay with someone
when his emotions were all over the place and he had to get himself
back under control to suppress them and for that, he needed to be
alone. He had explained it as best as he could, but Cyrus and
Elizabeth finally ensured his cooperation in coming to their manor
every day for lunch and dinner so that they could keep an eye on
him. He agreed.
Harry hardly spent a wink that night as he sat on the carpet in his
bedroom at Potter Castle, meditating.
His face was expressionless, but from the glow of the fireplace, tears
could be seen rolling down his cheeks.
Two days later, Harry was surprised to find Daphne in the family
drawing room of the castle after he felt the wards inform him of her
presence, just as he came inside after his morning run.
"Hey, Daphne," Harry greeted her, panting and sweaty. "What are
you doing here?"
Daphne simply raised an eyebrow. "Do I need a reason to come
here?"
"Of course not," he said quickly. "You don't usually wake up this early
during the holidays, so I was curious."
"I couldn't sleep," shrugged Daphne. "Besides, I have something to
give you for Yule and I wanted to do it in person."
She removed a thick leather book from within her bag, looking
strangely nervous. "I hope you like it," she whispered hesitantly. "Go
on, open it."
Harry muttered his thanks as he carefully accepted the book from
her. His eyes widened in surprise when he opened it. On the front
page was a photograph of James and Lily Potter, smiling and waving
at him, with baby Harry placed carefully in between them. He turned
the pages and saw that they were filled with many pictures of his
parents, some of his grandparents, and a few more of him as a baby.
He swallowed heavily as his emotions got the best of him. He closed
the book and moved towards his fiancée and pulled her into a silent
hug.
Daphne was shocked because this was the first time she had seen
Harry initiate any sort of physical contact at all. He never hugged
anyone willingly, ever! In fact, he did his best to avoid physical
contact of any kind, and to think the same boy had just initiated a
hug was astounding!
"Thank you," he said softly, his voice cracking slightly. "Thank you so
much. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate this."
"Anything for you, Harry," she whispered in his ear. She felt his grip
around her waist grow tighter, bringing her closer to his body.
Daphne smiled as she looked at his face. She could see the various
emotions swirling in those beautiful emerald green eyes; happiness,
sadness, confusion, possessiveness and – something else;
something she had never seen in his eyes before. Her heart began
beating faster. She slowly cupped his face in her hands and leaned
forward. Anticipation was building in the air, and each was breathing
warmly in the other's face. They closed their eyes, just as their lips
met.
The kiss didn't last long. Their lips brushed against each other a few
times and as Daphne pulled back, she could see that Harry was in a
state of shock. She looked at him, wondering what was going on in
that big brain of his. She was worried if she had pushed him too
quickly. After all, it was only now that he had initiated a hug. But
before she could say anything more, Harry grinned and pressed his
forehead against hers. His fingers intertwined with hers and the two
gazed into the other's eyes, soaking up the comfortable silence in
the room. Harry nuzzled his face against hers and pressed his lips
along the side of her face affectionately, and before long, he and
Daphne were kissing once more.
Harry spent the rest of the holidays moving from Potter Castle to
Greengrass Manor. His bond with Daphne had deepened since that
day they had kissed, so he didn't want to be away from her. He also
spent a lot of time with the ghost of Alfred Potter who was teaching
him Potions, Runes and Arithmancy again. He devoured them,
wanting to prove to everyone that he was the best when it came to
their O.W.L. results. He was quite busy and was actually enjoying
himself, so it was with a heavy heart that he returned to Hogwarts at
the end of the holidays. He really did not want to leave the warm
confines of Potter Castle. The place truly was his home.
Things at Hogwarts were the same as they had been before the
holidays. Harry didn't bother with it all, though. He spent increasingly
more time in the Room of Requirement as he practised against the
duelling dummies and studied for his upcoming exams. His spells
were getting more powerful and cleaner the more he practised. The
Quidditch season also continued as Harry scored another victory for
Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff. Harry also observed that he was
being followed by the teachers or prefects whenever he was in the
public eye, so he made it a point to keep his Invisibility Cloak and
Marauder's Map on him at all times.
In mid-January, Harry received the shock of his life. He and Daphne
were once again in the Room of Requirement, studying when he got
a mirror call. He wondered why Sirius was calling him again when he
had just met the man the previous day for their usual Animagus
training at the Shrieking Shack. When he answered it, it showed the
excited face of Sirius and Amelia.
"Harry, you'll never guess the good news!" said Sirius happily.
"You licked yourself in your Animagus form again," said Harry, with a
small smile. Daphne choked as she tried not to burst out laughing.
"NO! Yes! No!" cried Sirius, his eyes wide, trying to amuse his
godson.
Amelia laughed as she faced the mirror again. "That's nothing new,
Harry, but we called to say that I'm pregnant!"
"Really?" exclaimed Harry. "That's great! When's the baby due?"
"We just found out, so it should be in early to mid-September,"
Amelia replied with a smile. "You're the first person we called."
"Congratulations," Daphne told the couple as she came to sit on the
arm of Harry's chair. "Let us know if there is anything we can do."
"Will do," said Sirius, beaming at them.
Once the mirror deactivated, Harry and Daphne looked at each
other. "She's pregnant," he muttered. "Wow!"
"This is so exciting! I've never actually seen a newborn baby before.
Well, there was Astoria, but she doesn't count. I was only two years
old when my sister was born."
"You don't remember anything?" asked Harry, bewildered. Due to the
effects of Occlumency, he actually did remember, in excruciating
detail, his early days at the Dursleys when he was a two-year-old
boy.
Daphne huffed. "Of course I do," she said loftily. "I remember that
Astoria had always been just that annoying. She was born that way.
My personal theory is that she was born to make my life miserable."
Harry chuckled, shaking his head in fond exasperation. He had seen
the Greengrass sisters fight before and he had been shocked, but he
also knew that the two of them cared very deeply for each other.
He was quite curious about Sirius and Amelia's child. This would
certainly be exciting.
The month of January passed by without any problems. Some
wondered if Harry had not attacked anyone because he had been
discovered. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were the most vocal that
the Boy-Who-Lived was indeed guilty. Harry had become colder in
public, if that was even possible. He didn't show even the slightest of
emotion, having taken to practising Occlumency every night to
suppress his emotions better. He did not want to appear weak in
front of the masses. What else frustrated him was the wall he could
see in his mind palace which contained a lot of information on the
other side; information he guessed belonged to Voldemort. The small
cracks he saw were the memories he had accessed accidentally, but
the rest of them were still there, untouched.
He actually tried accessing those memories by staring at various key
places of Hogwarts, but he didn't get the information he wanted.
Finally, Harry was forced to conclude that there must be a powerful
trigger with an emotional component for those memories to
resurface. Simply seeing or hearing something random didn't make
those memories break out. He was also constantly wondering how
Lucius Malfoy was involved in this; that is if the man was involved at
all. For all he knew, Dobby could have heard the information from
someone else and had come to warn him. If Lucius was indeed
behind it, Dobby wouldn't have been able to warn Harry. Right?
Gilderoy Lockhart was another pain in the arse. The man's classes
were proving to be completely useless and Harry caught more than
one group of students in their fifth and seventh years sitting together
in the library, trying to learn Defence themselves. Sirius had been
furious about this, and to ensure that his godson would not suffer in
his O.W.L.s, had taken to teaching the boy Defence Against the Dark
Arts himself in the Shrieking Shack. Worse, Lockhart had also tried
to celebrate Valentine's Day , something which made all the
purebloods splutter in outrage. What was a silly Muggle tradition like
that doing at Hogwarts?
Of course, there was still that detention Harry had gotten from
Lockhart from the previous term. Harry was confused and annoyed
by it. Couldn't the man have finished them all in one week? But no;
he just had to drag them over the course of the year.
"This is thankfully the last of the man's stupid detentions," muttered
Harry.
"You said it right, Harry. I don't think I can see another fan mail of his
again," groaned Fred.
"Maybe we can write something bad and send it as a reply?"
suggested George. "It would be nice for his fans to have snarky
letters delivered to them."
"Won't work," sighed Fred. "He checks them before signing the
letters. We need to be more creative."
"I can't believe he is actually hired to teach Defence!" said Harry in
exasperation as they finally reached their destination. "The man is
incapable of casting even the most basic of spells; second-year
students are better qualified than him! What was Dumbledore
thinking? Diggory, what are you doing here?"
Cedric Diggory was sitting on the teacher's desk, in the Defence
classroom, looking bored out of his mind. He snapped out of his
trance when he saw the three other boys in front of him.
"Oh, hey," he said hesitantly, looking at Harry warily. "Lockhart gave
me detention."
"Humph," snorted Fred and George together.
"Figures that he would –"
"– give even 'Puffs detention."
"Come on," muttered Harry as he walked towards the professor's
office. "We might as well get it over with. He will no doubt have more
letters for us to write."
He opened the door to let them all inside. They entered, but there
was no sign of Lockhart. Harry frowned and turned around, only to
see the Defence Professor pointing his wand at them. There was a
flash of red light and his vision turned black.
Warning: The following contains a scene on the attempted
assault on minors. If easily offended, please skip the following
section and read the end of the chapter or move on to Chapter
11.
Harry regained consciousness and groaned softly. The first thing he
realised was that he couldn't move his hands and legs. He seemed
to be restrained magically. His eyes snapped open in panic when he
realised that he couldn't speak either. That's when he noticed it.
He was lying on a large bed, completely naked. Beside him, he could
see three other boys who were also nude and restrained. This was
bad; if not for Sirius explaining it to him, he wouldn't have even
known what this meant. Where the hell were they? His eyes trailed
around the room and immediately recognised some of the man's
items.
Harry couldn't believe that he had been fooled by Lockhart, of all
people. He had always underestimated the author-turned-professor,
thinking he knew no magic at all, but apparently, he had been wrong
to dismiss him completely. Harry saw the twins open their eyes as
well. Cedric too had woken up and they were all panicking at their
state of undress. Harry struggled, but it was no use. The magic
holding him did not buckle under the pressure. He had to get out of
these magical binds soon; otherwise, the consequences would be
too dire to contemplate. Judging by their state of undress, Harry had
a pretty good idea what Lockhart was planning.
Slowly, he started releasing magic out of his body. It was a technique
he had read a few months ago while studying Arithmancy. But the
problem was that he didn't know how much magic was used by
Lockhart while casting the spell, so the amount of magic needed to
counteract it would be guesswork. Infusing too much or too little
would not work. He would damage himself if he poured too much
magic at one go and he did not want that. He would have to start
small and increase the power levels slowly.
Just then, the door of the room opened and Gilderoy Lockhart
stepped inside, grinning widely. Harry's stomach churned when he
saw that expression. He did not like it. Trying to not let his fear get to
him, he began concentrating on breaking the magical binds.
"Well, well, well," said Lockhart, as he leered at the four naked boys.
"What do we have here? Is this a present for me? I must say you
boys sure know how to give me a present for Valentine's Day. How
very nice of you!"
When Lockhart saw the twins struggling, he laughed. "There's no
point trying to get out of those binds, boys," he taunted. "Fred and
George Weasley; the master pranksters of Hogwarts, isn't it? I've
always had a soft spot for naughty boys. Then we have Cedric
Diggory and Harry Potter – you both are considered the best looking
boys in the school, and I must say, I agree."
"Oh, do relax, Harry," he smiled as he placed his hands on Harry,
slowly touching the latter's firm chest and stomach. "All those early
morning workouts really do help your body, don't they? If you are this
delicious when you're barely thirteen, imagine how you would look in
a few years."
Harry was terrified by what was going on, but he didn't stop releasing
his magic to counter the binds. So far he had been unsuccessful and
his eyes widened when he felt Lockhart's hands move lower down
his body.
"Aww, aren't you well developed for your age?" asked Lockhart
fondly, stroking the boy's penis. He smiled widely as he got up and
headed towards the others. Harry closed his eyes and began
pumping more magic out of his body. He had to find the right balance
or else it wouldn't work, but solving a mathematical problem was
much different than practically doing it. Weak binds could be
shattered, but these were not weak, relatively speaking. He was
getting close; he could feel it. Unfortunately, when Harry opened his
eyes next, he was horrified to see that Lockhart had desisted himself
of his clothes; the sight itself made all the four boys nauseous as it
terrified them out of their wits.
"Let's have some fun, shall we boys?" smiled Lockhart, looking at the
terror-filled eyes in front of him. "Now, where do I start? Hmm ... I
think I'll have you, Harry. You are my prize this evening. You've been
quite the rebel in my classes. Tsk, tsk , what are children taught
these days?"
Harry did his best to ignore the man's hands running all over his
body. Any second now ... he was close. Just as Lockhart spread
Harry's arse cheeks apart and positioned himself in-between the
boy's legs, the binds shattered and Harry landed a powerful kick,
right at Lockhart's chest.
The magic Harry had been releasing was palpable, creating a
powerful aura around him as he stood up. His wand had been taken,
but he was not a student of martial arts and wandless magic for
nothing.
" Stupefy !" cried Lockhart, pointing his wand at the young wizard.
Harry simply dodged the red jet of light and cast the most powerful
wandless banishment charm he could perform on the professor.
Lockhart crashed into the wall just a few feet behind him, but he
didn't lose balance. A scarlet jet of light flew out of Harry's palm; the
man managed to duck just in time, but the wandless stunner was
nowhere powerful enough to do any damage.
Harry sidestepped the spells thrown his way; his green eyes
darkened. It was literally a blackish-green colour now, with emerald
nowhere to be seen. The magic in the air was thick as he
approached Lockhart. With one powerful punch, the Defence
professor was disarmed, his wand sailing in the other direction.
Lockhart tried to fight, but he did not have any knowledge in hand to
hand combat. After several punches and kicks, Harry pointed his
hand at the man.
"No, please," begged Lockhart weakly, his face puffed up from the
physical blows he had received courtesy of Harry.
"I'll ensure that you get the Dementor's kiss for this, you sick,
perverted bastard!" snarled Harry as a jet of red light flew from his
palm and impacted Lockhart's chest, stunning him unconscious.
Harry breathed deeply for a minute, quite tired due to the amount of
wandless magic he had used, but still stunned by what had
happened. He closed his eyes to centre himself as he tried to get his
violent emotions under control. The urge to torture and kill Lockhart
was strong. Looking around, he saw that the other boys were still
bound. Harry opened the door and saw that their possessions were
thrown all over the living room. Ignoring the rest, he quickly searched
for his wand, grabbed it, and came back inside to rescue his fellow
schoolmates. With a few flicks and waves of his wand, the three
other boys were unfrozen once more.
"Oh, bloody hell," George whispered as he frantically pulled on his
hair. Fred was white as a sheet, his body trembling violently. Cedric
was still in shock, looking into the distance, unable to speak, gaze
unfocused.
Harry decided to take charge. With a flick of his wand, he summoned
his communication mirror which was located in Ravenclaw Tower.
When it appeared before him, he grabbed it and murmured, "Amelia
Black."
After several seconds, her tired face appeared. "What is it, Harry?"
she asked sleepily.
"Aunt Amelia, please come to Hogwarts immediately," said Harry in a
very quiet, quivering voice. "Three other boys and I have been
sexually molested by Gilderoy Lockhart."
Sirius and Amelia Black ran like the hounds of hell were chasing
them. Entering through the massive oak doors, they were greeted by
Professor Sprout who led them to the Defence professor's office. As
she opened the door, Amelia could hear voices, one of them
mentioning the D.M.L.E.
"I'm here," announced Amelia as she entered, with Sirius behind her.
She could see the boys back in their uniforms, sitting on the large
bed in Lockhart's quarters. The man in question was on the floor,
face first, clearly naked.
"I would like to know exactly what happened here," she said, as one
of the Aurors behind her took out a dicta-quill.
Taking a deep breath, Cedric, being the oldest, began explaining
what he had seen.
"– and then Potter freed us from the magical binds Lockhart had
placed on us. I called the teachers by announcing it using a Sonorus
charm. We got dressed and waited for everyone to arrive," he
finished.
Everyone was in a state of shock. Sirius was clenching his fist in fury
while Dumbledore's aura was leaking all around him, his blue eyes
burning with anger no one had seen in a long time. Amelia walked
ahead and found Lockhart's wand. She pointed the tip of her wand at
the other and chanted, " Priori Incantatem! "
The spells used were exactly what young Diggory had described.
She nodded to the Auror who removed an evidence bag and put the
wand inside. She pointed her wand at Lockhart and cast, "
Rennervate! "
Lockhart slowly regained consciousness and turned around. His
eyes snapped open when he remembered his fight with the Boy-
Who-Lived. That's when he noticed the people in his office; he
gulped. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Gilderoy Lockhart, you are under arrest for the suspected sexual
assault on four minor boys. You have the right to remain silent and
you may request legal counsel. You will be tried before the
Wizengamot and until then, you will be held in the D.M.L.E holding
cells. Take him."
Lockhart was bound with invisible ropes and escorted out of the
room by the two Aurors.
"Boys, you will need to come to the trial as well," Amelia informed
them. "I shall let you know the time and date once the trial is fixed."
"Maybe it's better for them to go home for a few days" Sirius
suggested quietly, who had been unusually silent.
"Yes, good idea," agreed Dumbledore quietly. "I will contact Arthur
Weasley and Amos Diggory and let them know that they are needed
here at once. You boys have my permission to take all the time you
need; you can return to the school once you feel you are ready."
Harry didn't register the fact that he had been led out of the
classroom, down the corridors and out of the castle; he was lost in
thought. Once the three of them left the grounds, Sirius took Harry's
hand and Portkeyed to Black Manor. The boy collapsed on the
couch, staring at the floor; he seemed to be shivering.
"Harry?" whispered Amelia, looking at him worriedly. She sat next to
him, just as Harry grabbed her in a tight hug. He tried, he really did,
but he couldn't control himself. The weight of everything around him
came crashing down.
"Shh, it's alright, Harry," assured Amelia, trying to control her own
emotions, rubbing soothing circles on Harry's back as he cried on
her shoulder. She saw Sirius collapse on the seat to the left of his
godson, clenching his fists in a mixture of anger and worry.
A minute later, Harry breathed deeply, struggling to get his emotions
under control. Wiping the tears away, he leaned back and closed his
eyes.
"I was overconfident," he said finally, his voice hoarse. "That's why
this happened."
Harry mentally kicked himself as he recalled how he had been acting
for the past several months. He did not like the conclusion he arrived
at. He had become overconfident. His abilities had made him
arrogant. Arrogance was the downfall of every powerful leader or
civilisation; or in their case, family, and this was a lesson that was
drilled into every child in the family since the Potter Massacre. He
had forgotten some of the earliest lessons from his ancestor and had
become overconfident, leading him to be attacked by Gilderoy
Lockhart, of all people.
"No!" shouted Sirius forcefully. "Don't blame yourself, Harry. This is
not your fault !"
"I let my talent go to my head," said Harry in the same monotonous
voice, more tears pooling in his eyes, just as his godfather pulled him
into a tight hug. "I became arrogant and overconfident. I
underestimated Lockhart and look where it got me. I was assaulted,
and if I hadn't broken free, I don't even want to think about what he
could have done to the four of us. You lost ten years of your life
because you underestimated Pettigrew, didn't you? How is this
different?"
Sirius breathed deeply, rubbing his back soothingly as he placed a
gentle kiss on Harry's forehead. "Be that may, it is still not your fault,"
he said patiently. "You've had a long day. I'll bring a phial of
dreamless sleep potion to your room. Go on, get some sleep. We'll
talk tomorrow."
Nodding slightly, Harry got to his feet, climbed up the stairs towards
the bedroom he occupied whenever he stayed at Black Manor.
"We need to get him a Mind Healer," said Amelia quietly.
Sirius nodded sorrowfully.