Chapter 12: chapter 12
"Harry looked down at the collection of phials in his arms and then looked back up at the healer and asked "Any chance you could write all that down?"
With a roll of her eyes she again used her wand to conjure up an ink pot, a quill and a sheaf of parchment to begin writing out her instructions.
As she wrote she continued to speak "I managed to contact a specialist in dealing with dark magic. So long as Amelia consents to it, he'll be over tomorrow afternoon to take a proper look at that scar on your forehead."
"Alright," replied Harry "Does this guy have a name?"
"Cyrus Greengrass."
Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Greengrass?" he asked
"Yeah, why? Is that a problem?"
"Well, aren't his family a bit… you know…"
"What?"
"Well… dark?"
"No, Harry. The Greengrass family is not now, nor has it ever been considered a dark family. What on earth made you think that?"
"Well, Daphne Greengrass is in my year at Hogwarts, and she's a Slytherin."
Sarah rolled up the piece of parchment and whacked Harry in the head with it "You need to stop thinking things like that Mr Potter. Just because someone is in the house of the serpents doesn't mean they are evil."
Harry shifted uncomfortably before commenting "Alright, so I don't really know whether or not that family is a dark one, but she is a bully."
"Is she?"
"Yeah. She's in Pansy Parkinson's gang. Pansy bullies, Daphne and the others laugh."
"And have you ever witnessed Daphne bullying without Pansy around?"
Harry thought for a moment before giving a shake of his head "No."
"Then there might be more to Daphne Greengrass than you think. The Parkinsons on the other hand, now that is a family to be careful around."
Sarah picked up her bag and made her way back towards the fireplace. Once there, she stopped and turned around to face Harry again.
"Is there any reason my daughter cannot stand to be in the same building as you?"
Harry shrugged "That is a complicated story, but the basics of it is that there are frequent rumours about me at Hogwarts. Your daughter is one of the worst of the Hufflepuffs for believing the rumour mill, despite who frequently the rumour mill is proved wrong."
Sarah nodded "I'll have a word with her. I must say I really don't like the idea of you two not getting along."
"Why?" asked Harry.
"Isn't it obvious, Harry? Had the Wizengamot ruled in favour of taking you away from your mother's sister, I was one of the leading candidates to take you in. You and Hannah would have grown up like brother and sister."
She offered him a reassuring smile and then exited through the floo network, leaving Harry behind with a thoughtful look on his face.
He would have liked to have had a sister whilst growing up.
Harry gathered up his potions and headed back upstairs, thinking on the unfairness of his childhood, wondering how many other people had the right to have raised him, and wondering if he had been as discriminating towards Daphne Greengrass as he suspected her of being towards Muggleborns.
That evening, Harry's reading was once again interrupted by one of the House Elves, who invited him down to dinner.
"If Susan's down there then it would probably be better if I take dinner in here," replied Harry.
"But young sir, Mistress Amelia was most insistent that you join her and young Miss Susie," replied the House Elf.
With a resigned sigh, Harry placed his book down upon the bedside table and got up from his lying position on the bed. He made his way downstairs and to the kitchen where Madam Bones and Susan were both already seated at the dinner table.
Seeing as there was only one other place set up at the table, Harry settled himself down in the seat and a moment later food appeared upon the plate, a combination of slow roasted beef, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, boiled carrots, green beans and mashed swede. Having not eaten since his earlier sandwich, and before then not had a proper meal since then end of the summer term at Hogwarts a month and a half previously, Harry tucked in with gusto, doing his best to ignore the silent atmosphere that resulted from both he and Susan being once again in the same room together.
Eventually, however, the awkwardness in the air robbed Harry of his appetite, and he soon found himself just pushing his food around the plate with his fork, mostly waiting for any hint that he had sat at the table long enough to be polite.
Had he looked up, he would have seen that Susan was behaving in much the same way.
Also missed by Harry was the subtle look that Madam Bones gave to her niece that signalled that she wished to speak with Harry privately.
Harry looked up as Susan's chair moved back and he watched as she left the room.
Madam Bones turned her attention to Harry and asked "Are you aware that you were being followed when you were at the Ministry yesterday?"
"What?" asked Harry, surprised by the revelation "No, but… Hang on. Just before I was called into the courtroom, I heard the sound of footsteps. I couldn't see anyone, so they must have been invisible, but who-"
"An Auror of mine, Nymphadora Tonks," replied Madam Bones "I discovered her lurking outside of Courtroom 10 as we were leaving the trial. She was hiding under an invisibility cloak."
Harry's eyes widened in realisation "So is that the "quick bit of business" you had to deal with before that talk between us the Minister?"
"That's correct. As a junior Auror who had absolutely nothing to do with the case, she had no reason to be anywhere near those courtrooms. As the director of her department, I was able to easily take her in to ask her a few questions. I was unhappy to learn that she was there upon Dumbledore's request."
Harry's expression darkened "So the wrinkled old git can't be bothered to turn up and help me out, but instead sends one of his pawns to discover just how things went?"
Madam Bones gave a nod and said "It certainly seems that way. I was rather disconcerted to find that Miss Tonks seemed to feel that her acting on Dumbledore's behalf was somehow an acceptable practice and therefore exempt from the usual rules. The law says differently and she is currently locked up in a cell that only the highest ranking of Aurors have the ability to unlock."
"So you think that your department have become compromised then?" asked Harry "Not counting this Tonks person of course."
"It is almost certain," replied Madam Bones "Albus Dumbledore has a level of influence that stretches far and wide. There are likely to be many people within not just my department but the Ministry as a whole, along with the Wizengamot itself that report to Dumbledore, and I am sure that although Tonks was the one sent to trail you, many others would have been keeping an eye out for you."
"Does he know I am here?" asked Harry.
Madam Bones gave a shrug "I honestly don't know. You were probably seen being taken to the Minister's office, and I suspect that it was noticed that I joined the two of you there. Because you left the Minister's office by his own secure floo connection it will most certainly be unclear where you went, though this house would definitely be a more likely guess than most. I can, however, say for certain that Dumbledore knows that you did not return to the home of your relatives in Surrey after yesterday's events."
"What makes you so sure?" questioned Harry.
"The House Elves who went to pick up your things reported that a wizard under an invisibility cloak was loitering outside the house. That man was Sturgis Podmore, a man known to be loyal to Dumbledore. Podmore has since left his post and was replaced a sorry excuse for a wizard called Mundungus Fletcher, who has a strong reputation for being a petty thief who owes Dumbledore a couple of favours. Podmore has likely reported that you did not return to the home of your relatives during his watch, and Fletcher will end up reporting the same."
Harry scowled and asked "Please tell me you can do something about these people?"
.
.
.
Subscribe to my patreon for advanced content...
patreon.com/Fernandodavid
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone