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Here We Go Again
🕑 Added 2022-08-30 15:03:51 +0000 UTCChapter 6- Down the memory lane
The Potters and the Blacks watched as Harry and Dumbledore stared at each other. The tension between the two of them was palpable. Daphne was worried. She knew that the moment these two met, sparks would surely fly.
Dumbledore had not been honest and truthful to Harry, playing with his life instead. And there is one thing that Harry hates more than anything else and that is dishonesty. He hates liars. After the war was over, he had torn into Dumbledore’s portrait. After he was done with it, the portrait had been set on fire much to the shock of the other portraits and Headmistress McGonagall.
“I didn’t expect your presence at Hogwarts, Lord Potter Black.” Dumbledore spoke, breaking the silence between the two. Harry shrugged.
“I was here to see Narcissa, headmaster Dumbledore. I felt like seeing my brother and cousins, and Narcissa offered to show me the castle and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see the famous Hogwarts castle.” He explained.
“Ah…Yes. Hogwarts. You are not the first nor are you the last who will be amazed by this wonderful castle.” Dumbledore smiled genuinely.
“So I have been told.” Harry agreed.
The awkward silence was back and this time, it was more uncomfortable than the last time.
“I heard something about you punching Mr. Malfoy back at Hogsmeade, Lord Potter Black. It was what I wanted to discuss with you.”
Harry turned back to Narcissa. “Word travels quickly over here, doesn’t it?” He questioned jokingly, receiving a laugh in return.
“You keep tabs on who comes and goes to Hogsmeade as well? Isn’t that a tad bit too nosy, Headmaster. Especially for someone in your position.” Harry questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“What makes you say so, Lord Potter Black?” Dumbledore questioned, his voice plain and his eyes boring into Harry’s.
“Well, your eyes and ears around the place, Headmaster. Your eyes and ears.” Harry explained.
“What is that name?” He questioned no one in particular.
“Aberforth Dumbledore.” He saw the old man’s eyes widen slightly as he said the name of the younger Dumbledore.
He had learnt long back in his time that the brothers did put on a facade of not liking each other just as a distraction. The younger brother used to keep his eyes on the things that happened in and around Hogsmeade.
The facade was all part of a bigger plan. The old man had planned out everything and Harry played directly into it. The Horcrux hunt, the secrets around his heritage, the horcrux in his forehead. Sirius’s sacrifice. That was the thing that hurt Harry the most.
He and Dumbledore would never get along in their lives. That was the amount of damage that he did. It was the manipulations that hurt Harry a lot. He had always seen Dumbledore as his own Grandfather. He had never questioned the man and asked everything he did. He trusted the man blindly. And that was what led him to getting killed again. Harry had been lucky and if not, he would have died.
“I don’t take kindly to my students being assaulted, Lord Potter Black, irrespective of your status.” Dumbledore’s voice carried an underlying threat that nobody missed.
Harry stepped closer to the man. He was as tall as Dumbledore and he stared straight dead into the eyes of the old man.
“And I don’t take kindly to some inbred idiot laying his hands on one of the women in my family. I consider my family untouchable, Dumbledore. If anything and I repeat, anything happens to them in this castle, I will raze this place to the ground if it’s the last thing I do.” His eyes had begun to glow eerily as he glared at the old man.
Dumbledore was surprised.
Harry chuckled coldly. “You didn’t know, right?”
Dumbledore shook his head.
“That cunt had the nerve to touch Narcissa without permission and he did it again today in front of the public no less. I am pretty sure that if it was up to me with my old temper, he would have been burnt alive and put on display right in the center of the village.” He whispered, but he was pretty sure that the others had heard him.
“Check your facts before you speak.” He muttered. He leaned closer to the man.
His eyes suddenly began glowing once more.
“If you ever dare threaten me again, I will break your bones, piece by piece, you fucking goat.” He spat softly before composing himself as he stepped back.
“I believe you have some work, Headmaster?” Harry politely asked the man to get lost.
Dumbledore stared at the young man calculatingly. He had not expected the man to speak to him this way but he was surprised. If he could get this young man firmly under control, he would gain a very powerful ally. That was not difficult. Young minds were easily impressionable. Not that the boy was evil or anything, but Dumbledore knew that he wouldn't hesitate to kill. He could see the coldness in his eyes.
He still didn’t understand why he was hostile towards him. He was pretty sure that this is the first time he is meeting the boy, though he never understood how the heir of the Potters slipped his knowledge. He must pay close attention to the young man. He seemed extremely interesting.
—-&&&-----
They watched in silence as the Headmaster nodded and turned around and left. None spoke a thing until he was out of sight.
“Bloody goat fucker.” Harry muttered under his breath.
James who watched the exchange frowned in confusion. He didn’t know what was happening or why Harry hates Dumbledore. He was pretty sure that the two had never met before the Wizengamot and this was only their second meeting.
“Have they met before?” James asked Daphne as Harry was still keeping his eye on the man that just left.
“Why do you ask?” She asked gently, keeping an eye on Harry.
“There is a lot of tension there. It is like those two are rivals.” He said. “Dumbledore is a good man is he not? He defeated Grindelwald. He is powerful and he is very kind, isn’t he?”
When James mentioned the words kind and good, his anger just blasted off. His already withering patience broke that very moment. He rounded up on James, his eyes glowing with anger.
“Good? Kind?” He snarled as his anger threw his magic in waves. “Are you out of your mind?” His voice was thick with anger.
James had frozen in shock and fear as he stared at his brother. He couldn’t move and he reeled back in fright. Daphne stepped right next to James and caught the stunned boy in her arms.
“Harry!” She hissed in anger, as she hugged the younger Potter.
“Why are you letting it out on him?” She questioned as she tried to sooth James.
“Calm down. Just look at him.” She pointed out the young boy who was shaking in her arms.
Harry listened to the girl and he was devastated to see the fear in the younger boy’s eyes.
He was behaving childishly and he let his temper get the better of him.
“Apologize. Apologize this instant!” She ordered. Harry’s shoulders sagged and he released a deep breath. He knelt down in front of James.
“Sorry, James.” Harry apologized wholeheartedly. He never should have screamed at the boy. He was feeling sorry and ashamed of his behavior.
“I am really sorry. I was blinded by rage. Please forgive me.” He saw the boy nod shakily. He held out his arm and beckoned the boy close to him.
James looked back at Daphne who smiled encouragingly. James walked towards his brother’s hand which gripped his shoulders in a manly hug.
“Sorry, buddy. I am really sorry.” He apologized once more, shaking James gently by his shoulders. James smiled slightly as he nodded.
“It’s okay.” He whispered.
“There are a lot of things you don’t know buddy. Things about Dumbledore that will shock you to the core. But you will know all this when the time is right.” He explained.
“Do you trust me, James?” He received an emphatic nod. He smiled.
“Then let me tell you not to pry too much for now. You will learn everything when the time is right.” He assured the Potter Heir.
James nodded. He smiled mischievously. “You are scary. Daphne was right. You are a right git when you are angry.”
Harry appeared to be outraged by those words as he glared at Daphne amidst the laughter.
“What?” She shrugged. “You are you know.” She defended. Harry shook his head and chuckled.
A moment of silence later Harry addressed Narcissa. “Where is Bellatrix?” He questioned.
“She will be furious if she finds out that you were here and didn’t invite her to see me.”
Narcissa knew that she would get an earful from the young girl. She adored Harry and he was all that she talked about. If she ever learns that he was here and she couldn’t meet him just because they forgot, she would never forgive them.
“I will go get her.” Narcissa got ready to move towards the school when Andromeda stopped her.
“No need. She is coming.” Sure enough the youngest Black sister was rushing towards the group. She jumped towards Harry and hugged him tightly. Harry chuckled as he hugged the little girl back.
“Harry!? What are you doing here?” She questioned as she let go of the hug and smiled brightly at him.
“Just wanted to see Hogsmeade and Narcissa had agreed to show me around.”
Bellatrix turned around and glared at her older sister.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She questioned, a cute glare on her face that amused the others rather than convey her annoyance.
“Well, I wanted it to be a surprise.” Narcissa explained. “I had kept it to myself that Harry was coming.”
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and huffed, clearly annoyed. She turned back to Harry and noticed Daphne for the first time.
“Who is that?” She questioned bluntly.
“That is Daphne Blackwood. My friend.” Harry introduced.
“You must be Bellatrix?” The young girl nodded.
“Harry has told me a lot about you.” Daphne said with a gentle smile.
“He has also told me that he will teach you dueling if you get very good marks.”
Bellatrix perked up at the mention of dueling. “Yes. I have been studying hard and I am the first in my class. I can’t wait for the exams. Will you teach me if I do well?” She asked again.
“Promise.” Harry assured the girl.
“Daphne. Let’s get going. It is getting late.” Harry pointed out. The girl nodded her agreement and stepped to his side.
“We will get going. I want all of you to get back to the castle and if there is anything you want from me, just write to me. And you two,” He nodded at James and Sirius.
“Stay out of trouble.” The two boys grinned and gave Harry a salute.
“Yeah. That is like Dad agreeing to become the Minister of Magic. Waste of an attempt.” He grumbled good naturedly.
“Narcissa?” He turned to the blonde.
“Keep an eye on them for me, will you?” She nodded and stepped closer to him, placing a kiss on his cheek.
“Bye.” She whispered and turned around, leading the others back to the castle.
Harry watched until they disappeared into the castle and turned back to Daphne.
“Sorry about that.” He apologized and she understood what he was speaking about.
She sighed as she took his hand. “Did you realize how silly you were, Harry?” She questioned rhetorically. “In front of the kids? You are not one to lose composure so easily. What happened?”
Harry let out a deep sigh. “He got to me, I guess.” He shrugged. “Seeing that man’s face is difficult for me, Daphne. I hate his very being. I hate the fact that he is still living and breathing.” He gritted through clenched teeth.
“After all he did. After everything he did with my life.” His anger swirled around him in the form of his magic and Daphne shuddered once more.
“Calm down.” She whispered, taking his hand in hers. “Calm down, Harry.”
He took a deep breath and reigned his magic in.
“It’s just that, I can’t stand him. And this time, I will show him no mercy, if he decides to interfere with my job. If he ever puts his pointy hat in my family business, I will destroy him, Wizarding World be damned.” He grunted, looking away from the young woman’s face
“Come. I need to get you home.” She held his hand in hers and began their walk back outside the wards of Hogwarts.
“You must control that temper of yours, Harry.” Daphne spoke after a few minutes of silence.
“You are a beast when you lose control. And that is not something that the kids need to see. It was a good thing that young Bellatrix was not there at the moment. I would have never forgiven you if you had behaved that way in front of her. You must know by now, that these young minds are impressionable.” Daphne ranted to a now sorry Harry.
They appeared in the lobby of Potter Manor. Daphne walked inside and led him to the sitting room. The other Potters were enjoying some tea when the two walked in.
“Go. Go to your room or training room or wherever you want to go and cool down. Don’t come back grumpy or tense.” She was still annoyed and Harry didn’t want to argue with her.
He walked out of the sitting room.
“What happened?” Charlus questioned as he set down the evening newspaper.
Daphne went on to explain what happened to the other Potters.
“He has not lost control like this in so long. It was scary to see him like that.” Daphne pointed out. “I saw him like that once and that was certainly enough for me to understand why he was able to defeat the Dark Lord.”
Euphemia tutted. “Why did you have to send him away? He could have done with some tea.”
"No, Mrs. Potter. Like I said, he is stressed when he is angry and him letting off some steam is the only way that will calm him down." She explained.
"What did Albus do?" She asked. "Why is Albus such a sore topic to Harry?"
Daphne shook her head.
"I don't know. They were close. All of Hogwarts knew that. Many thought they were Master and Apprentice, such was the closeness of their relationship. I don't know what went wrong, but when he returned for his final year, all his relationships were broken and he was truly alone." She explained.
"In school, he had lost his friends. He would speak to none. He would just go to classes and go back to sit in front of the black lake. Nothing else."
"It took a few months for him just to respond, when I approached him. I was the only person he spoke to or listened to, to be honest." Daphne explained.
"That was until Narcissa became his Mistress." She tried to whisper, but that came out loudly.
"Narcissa was Harry's mistress?" Dorea questioned in shock that was replicated by the other two Potters.
Daphne had to bite back a wave of annoyance. She was not too pleased before and she was not too pleased now, with Narcissa. She seemed to be a constant for her with Harry Potter, one that she could have done without.
"Yes." She gritted out.
Dorea’s face broke into one of amusement.
“That explains why he is so soft on her. Now, though, she can do one better.” Dorea pointed out, causing Daphne to cough into her tea.
“Are you all right, dear?” Dorea questioned the girl, trying very hard to stifle that smile.
“N..yes..Yes. I am fine.” She waved away the woman’s question.
Dorea and Euphemia shared a smile. They liked to rile up the girl a lot as she was fun to tease, but the fact was that the two women had grown extremely fond of Daphne. She was intelligent, beautiful and a perfect match for Harry. He chose well according to the two women. Daphne would make a wonderful wife for Harry and also a very able lady to their family.
Harry walked back into the sitting room and he looked slightly disheveled. He sat down in front of the women. None of them disturbed his thoughts opting to remain silent till he spoke.
“Sorry.” He spoke after a long break of silence. He sighed softly, looking back up and meeting their eyes. “I shouldn’t have done that, but I was an idiot. I just lost control when I saw that man.”
“Dumbledore is not a saint, but he is certainly not a bad man. Why do you hold so much anger towards the man?” Euphemia questioned with a frown.
Harry stood up and he rummaged in his pockets and retrieved a small box which he enlarged with a wandless charm. He placed it on the table.
“I get the same question a number of times. I know that nothing will be the same after you see that.” He explained.
“I can’t bear to go through that again, so I will be outside. Come get me when you are done.”
He began to leave, when he noticed Daphne about to follow him. He looked at her questioningly.
“I know some of it, Harry. That is enough for me.” She said but Harry held up his hand.
“What you know are just my reasons to hate Dumbledore.” He explained.
“But that,” He pointed to the box on the table. “Is something more. I want you to see it. Yeah?”
She nodded with a frown and watched him leave. Why was she so sure that this would be very bad? She noticed Charlus waving his wand over the box and opening it. He retrieved some vials from it.
“Tippy?” The Potter elf popped in. “Master Charlus needs anything from Tippy?”
“Can you get my pensive from the study, please?” The elf nodded and popped away, returning a few moments later with the pensive. Charlus thanked the elf and sent her away. He then went on to pour the memories inside the vial into the pensive. He then looked back at the members of the family that were waiting for him to finish patiently.
“Shall we?” The others nodded and gathered around the pensive before diving in to watch the memories.
—--&&&-----
They landed in what seemed to be a muggle home. It was neat and well kept. They heard a hissing noise and followed it towards the kitchen. They saw a young boy standing on top of a stool and he seemed to be busy at work. It was when they noticed closely that they noticed the boy having brilliant green eyes.
“Is that Harry?” Dorea questioned; the shock evident in her tone.
The boy seemed to be hard at work, as he seemed to be cooking something. A thin and almost sickly looking woman, an overweight man with a mustache pretty much resembling a walrus and a boy who seemed to be extremely fat for someone of his age walked into the dining room and took up their seats.
“Freak!” The fat man roared and young Harry jumped on his stool in fright and fell down. The three of them shared laughs between them at the plight of the boy.
“Is my breakfast ready freak? I am getting late for work.” The boy stood up and nodded meekly.
“Yes, Uncle Vernon.” He then went about serving breakfast to everyone.
The chubby boy, that seemed to be the man’s son, tripped Harry when he held a hot pan in his hand. Harry lost control and fell down, his hand falling right into the burning pan. Harry screamed in pain as he quickly pulled his hand away from the hot vessel.
Then, to the horror of Daphne and the others, the fat man pulled Harry’s other arm and pressed it onto the hot pan and stood on it. Harry screamed out in pain, and wiggled around the ground, trashing and trying to pull away his small arm, but the man laughed without mercy as he continued to torture the poor boy.
“You spoiled my breakfast, freak.” The man spat as Harry tried to pull his hand free.
“Uncle Vernon. It was Dudley who tripped me. I couldn’t control.” The man raised his foot away as the young boy pulled away his burnt hand. The next moment, he slapped Harry with such force that he was thrown away a few feet.
“How dare you accuse Dudley, you sick freak?” The man questioned as he pulled his belt from his pants and started to whip Harry.
The Potters were horrified at what they witnessed. It was heart wrenching. To learn that they would do this to a young boy.
They watched as Harry begged the man to stop, but the man just increased the beatings he was dishing out the moment Harry screamed louder. It went on to the point where Harry could just lay on the ground with barely any consciousness left as the man whipped him.
“Oh, you poor boy.” Euphemia sniffed as she failed to stem the flow of tears. Dorea had grabbed her husband’s arm as she watched the horrifying memories.
Daphne was shocked. She never understood why Harry was thin and fragile when he arrived at Hogwarts. She had always wondered why Potter dressed badly, with clothes too big for his size.
She had her answer. She had never ever imagined that this would be the reason why Harry turned out like that.
The man grabbed Harry by his collar and dragged him to what seemed like a cupboard. He opened the cupboard and threw the boy inside.
They then noticed the inside of the cupboard. It was dusty and too small, and there was a small pillow and an old bed sheet.
“He slept there?” Charlus croaked. They got their answer when they saw words written on the wall. ‘Harry’s Room.’ It read.
The memory proceeded to show a few more instances where they mistreated Harry, but enough to give an understanding of his home life to them. Charlus looked particularly murderous, and his expression was one of hostility.
The memory continued to play and they watched as Harry grew up among abuse by all the members of the household where he grew up. Charlus tried very hard to control his temper that was threatening to burst as he tried to suppress the wave of magic that left him and it would have been extremely difficult if not for his wife. Somebody had dared to treat his blood in this manner and that was unforgivable for Charlus.
The memory then shifted to a few years later when Harry had grown up a little. He was still the same meek boy when the letter from Hogwarts arrived.
“Hagrid?” Euphemia questioned. “Should it not be Albus or Minerva who would introduce muggleborn students to magic and our world?”
Daphne nodded. “Yes. According to what I know, every muggleborn was introduced to our world by Professor McGonagall. She was the deputy headmistress so that was her job. I am as surprised as you are that they sent Hagrid to introduce Harry to magic.” She muttered.
“Do you think that was Dumbledore’s doing?” Dorea questioned.
“It is.” Daphne agreed. “According to my father, Dumbledore was adamant that Harry was in a safe place under his personal care and he needed to be kept away from the eye of the magical population and he would be introduced to the magical world when it was the right time. Many were curious to see him, but no one knew where he was.” She explained.
“I think this was Dumbledore’s work. Hagrid was Dumbledore’s man and it is surely Dumbledore that sent him. That was the only plausible explanation.” Daphne muttered.
His fascination as he walked through Diagon Alley, his eyes lighting up in interest as he surveyed the various shops. In a way, it was very cute. The ladies found his fascination adorable.
Their doubts regarding Hagrid introducing Harry were confirmed when he began singing the man’s praises and differentiating Gryffindor with the other houses. The blatant favoritism was very much palpable.
“It was the same. He always was partial, Dumbledore. He gave away almost a hundred points for something like playing the best chess game in Hogwarts and stuff.” Daphne whispered.
They watched as they left Gringotts without him taking up his heirship. They wondered why nobody at Gringotts did bother informing Harry about his position in the Wizarding World apart from being the Boy Who Lived, but then again, they never really cared about any others apart from their own affairs.
The selection of his wand was fascinating to watch. It was funny to watch every wand that Harry chose, behaving in an opposing manner, and lighting the old wand makers' items on fire or splitting them apart or disrupting the room. Harry’s expression was funny for them to see and they enjoyed his boyish enthusiasm.
But everybody had the same thoughts. ‘How could somebody treat such a wonderful boy like this?’ They were all dying to know what happened next and were praying that nothing untoward happened to him.
When they saw Harry receive his owl, they noticed the love and pure joy in his eyes. That brought a fresh wave of tears to the others. All of them were born with all privileges possible, with loving parents and an environment full of love and care. It was when they noticed how Harry grew up, that they understood that they were pampered and spoiled when compared to the poor boy. The sole heir of the Potter fortune and he was abused, beaten and underfed. The way his eyes lit up with joy at every small possession that was purchased told them spades about how lucky they have been to be born this way.
They couldn’t wait for the next set of memories as they were pushed out of the pensive. They hoped for their own sake that the other memories won’t be as painful as this. They were so wrong. So very wrong.
TBC—--------
Comments
col mays
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Akshay Iyer
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