Chapter 117 - Harry Potter Fanfiction 37 - Family - Its in the Blood (1/2)
Plot: Somebody decides to teach Harry about the importance of blood.
Pairing: Harry P., Astoria G.
NOTE: Oneshot
Family; It's in the Blood
”Draco is right about you, Potter. You're a disgrace to wizarding kind.”
Harry and Hermione turned to see a blonde girl in Slytherin robes looking at him with disgust.
Behind them Malfoy and his minions sauntered off, laughing at the latest put down they had scored on the Gryffindor Golden Boy and his mudblood.
”Screw you!” Harry said heatedly. ”You don't even know me. Malfoy doesn't know me. I've never insulted anyone like Malfoy does. He goes around doing it all the time and you have the nerve to call me a disgrace?”
”That's the point.” She took an aggressive step forward. She was a few inches shorter than them and looked to be in Ginny's year. ”You let him insult your family. You don't stop him from calling your mother a mudblood, or your friend.”
Harry made to move forward but was stopped by Hermione. She could tell that Harry was on a hair-trigger. ”We just don't believe in stooping to his level.”
”Ha!” She shook her head in disgust. ”I can believe you would think that way, Granger. You were raised muggle. But Potter should know better. He should know just how much of an insult Draco is making and why he is a fool for letting it slide.”
”How the devil am I supposed to know better?”
”Because you were taught these things! Didn't you pay attention when Dumbledore and Merlin were tutoring you?”
Now she was pissed. More pissed. ”How dare you laugh about this! You were granted the greatest honour, to sit and learn at the feet of Merlin and-”
”Please! Stop!” Hermione was clutching her stomach. Her book bag was on the floor.
”God! I can't believe I was upset about being lectured by a girl who believes children's books are real.” Harry chuckled as he picked up Hermione's bag and led her away.
The girl stood there, confused. She needed to speak to someone.
It was two days later. Harry squawked as he was yanked into an empty classroom as he followed Collin Creevey to the Weighing of the Wands Ceremony.
Somehow the shutterbug never noticed his charge had vanished.
”Again?” Harry ġrȯȧnėd as he saw the same blonde Slytherin looking up at him. He was too frustrated to notice her completely different expression this time. ”Look, I have to be somewhere. Can you attack me later?”
”Wait! I- I just wanted to apologise.” She was holding her hands and wringing her fingers. ”I… I didn't realise the books were fantasy. My sister pointed out that you dress like a muggle… a poor muggle.
”Has no one really ever told you about family?”
Harry frowned at her. She looked sincere, but also upset. ”No. No one has told me anything about family. Hagrid gave me a photo album at the end of my first year and I met my godfather last year.”
That upset turned to near livid outrage. ”What about Weasley? Longbottom? They are both Purebloods. Didn't they tell you anything? Even the half-bloods-” She stopped her rant and turned thoughtful. ”No, they wouldn't say anything because you wouldn't ask and you couldn't ask because you wouldn't even know you should ask.”
Harry actually snorted a laugh. She sounded like one of the Dr. Seus books from primary school. He quickly schooled his face as he was subjected to a glare. ”Is there something important I should know then?”
”Of course! Half-bloods and pure bloods are told by their parents and relatives.”
”I'm an orphan.”
”And your adopted parents should have told you.”
”I was never adopted.”
”Then your guardians-”
”Are muggles.”
”MY POINT-” She screeched. ”is that someone should have told you.
”I would like to teach you.”
It was said quietly, almost too quietly. But Harry heard it.
”What?”
”I want to teach you about what family and blood means in the wizarding world.” She straightened her shoulders, rallying for the task. ”I made a mistake when I spoke to you before. I was foolish and ill-informed. I wish to make my apology by teaching you what you should have been taught.”
”Erm… ok. Just one question: What's your name?”
In order to prevent a civil war in the castle, both Harry and his new tutor, one Astoria Greengrass, agreed to keep their meetings quiet. Neither was fond of using the term 'secret'.
The only people who knew were Astoria's sister, Daphne, and the Weasley twins. Astoria never kept things from her sister and Harry needed somewhere for them to meet. The twins knew the castle like the back of each other's hands.
So there they were, sitting opposite each other on transfigured stools in a cramped secret passageway.
”I've been trying to think of the best place to start.” Astoria said, her brow furrowed. ”I could tell you about the importance of family, but you wouldn't know the background.
”So, we'll start with blood.”
”I think I still have some left.” Harry poked at his left forearm.
”This is not a joking matter.” Astoria hissed.
”Sorry.” He said sincerely.
”Blood is everything. We get it from our parents and pass it onto our children. The reason for most of the questionable marriages in the wizarding world is because of the power of blood. The traits we inherit from our parents are passed onto our children.
”This is generally more important for girls than boys as families prefer to control who has access to family traits.”
”I don't understand.” Harry frowned.
”You are a Parselmouth. Your children will inherit that gift. But your children will be Potters.
”Now, if I was a Parselmouth, my children would inherit… but my children would not be Greengrasses. They would be whatever family I married into.
”Can you imagine Malfoys marrying into a family like Granger if it meant they inherited their gifts?”
”Alright, so you are talking about something similar to genetics. Inherited traits, like hair colour.”
Astoria frowned. ”I do not know that term… ge-net-ticks.”
Harry just waved it off. ”It's a muggle thing. But I understand the inheritance bit.”
She clearly wanted to know more, but put it aside in favour of her lesson. ”Well, most families don't have any special gifts. The Greengrasses don't, in fact the only families I know of that had them were Slytherin with Parseltongue and Tonks with metamorphamagi.
”Actually, the Tonks family is a firm example of Pure blood doctrine being flawed. The head of the Tonks family is a muggleborn. He married a Black and they had no history of the gift.”
”Black?” Harry perked up at the mention of his godfather's family.
”Ah.” She nodded in understanding. ”Sirius, the traitor.”
”No, actually. He was framed. Pettigrew was the traitor.”
She was beginning to get a little bit worried now about being alone with Harry… he seemed to have lost his mind.
Harry saw the look. ”It was a whole thing last year when Black broke out Azkaban. He actually managed to reveal the traitor but the Dementors interfered and Fudge tried to cover the whole thing up.”
Astoria tried to return to the proper subject. ”Erm… Tonks! Right, the Tonks family became embroiled in a bit of a family feud as the Black family claimed that Andromeda Black had stolen family gifts by marrying the muggleborn and having a baby with those gifts.
”It was all a big loss for the Black family as they couldn't prove that there had ever been a Black who was also a metamorphamagi.”
”What is a metamorphamagi?” Harry asked.
”Someone who has the ability to change what they look like by willing it.”
”Cool!”
Astoria smiled, she often wished she could change things about herself. ”Do you have any questions?”
”Erm… can these gifts be passed to others without having to be born with them or give birth to someone?”
”There is a blood adoption ritual.” She nodded slowly. ”It is very rarely used. Usually it is done if someone like you, who is the last of their family, is adopted by another family that has very close ties to the child's family. Usually if someone is a godparent they will perform the ritual.
”So, I suppose you could say that Sirius Black would have performed it with you after your parents died.”
”Does it have to be willing?” Harry asked uncomfortably. He hated to think that someone had tied him to the Dursleys.
”That is a subject we should cover next time. The whole mess regarding permissions, consent and authority.”
The next lesson didn't occur until after the First Task.
”You tried to outfly a dragon?” Came the oft heard accusation.
”Look, in my defence, the blasted thing was chained down.” Harry grumbled. ”It only got me once. It was just a scratch.”
”If you could summon your broom from the castle, why didn't you try summoning the bloody egg!?” She finished with a screech.
”Erm…”
”I guess brains wasn't a gift from either of your parents.” She sneered.
”Whatever. Let's just get on with it.”
”That was a test dummy! I just insulted your parents!”
”Well you still haven't told me how to respond!”
”Hit me you idiot! Curse me! At the very least you could return the damned insult!”
Harry was peeved.
Astoria, however, was red-in-the-face livid.
”Your father is a baboon.”
Harry's calm declaration left him looking at Astoria with worry. Her face was still red, her breathing still heavy… but her expression was… confused.
”That was pathetic.” She sneered as she fixed her hair and clothes. ”But at least it was a start.”
”Maybe if you gave me some examples, I'd be better at it.”
”Draco has been giving you examples since the first day I saw you interacting.” She said as she primly sat on her stool. ”Now, today we will talk about authority in a family.
”We are all magically subservient to those who gave us our blood. Not slaves, but we cannot harm our blood parents. This is usually most noticeable when it comes to accidental magic. A toddler's temper tantrum won't be able to cause direct harm to their parents.
”I wouldn't be able to walk up to my father and curse him… that is to say, I could, but my spell would have little to no effect.”
”But… but what if the parents aren't… good? To their children?” He asked uncomfortably.
”Then all people can do is report it to the aurors.” She said sadly. ”Remember that these conditions only apply to magic. A child can still punch and stab.”
They sat silently for a few moments.
”Last time you said something about blood adoptions.”
Astoria just nodded. ”It's usually done by godparents if the birth parents die. Occasionally if the family is exceptionally close or wants the additional familial link for passing on gifts, it can be done.”
”So… if the Tonks were to blood adopt someone, they could pass on the metamorph gift?”
”In theory. I haven't heard of it happening.”
”Do blood adoptions happen often or is this just something you researched?” Harry asked curiously.
”I did some extra research to help you. General stuff is taught as we grow up. Like learning the alphabet.”
”Oh… thanks.”
”Just make sure you put it to good use.” She glared.
”Yes Professor.”
”Don't call me that.”
”Why are you helping me?” Harry asked. ”You're a pure blood, right? Are you just a good person or do you have another reason?”
”I try to be a good person.” She said tightly. ”But, I might be a pure blood with an unbroken line that spans centuries… but my uncle married a muggleborn.
”I love her very much.” She finished quietly.
”She- She's still… alive?”
”Oh yes.” Astoria nodded. ”She made it through the war because my uncle eloped with her to New Zealand. Daphne was born a few months before you, but my father didn't want me born in the middle of the war so he took my mother and sister to join his brother in New Zealand.
”I'm actually a New Zealander.” She giggled.
Harry smiled. It was nice to see the girl happy. ”Are they still there? Your Uncle and Aunt?”
”No, they moved back to Wales a few years ago. Aunty said she wanted to be here to console my mother when she was alone because I was at school.” She laughed.
”Would your aunt ever have a reason to blood adopt you or Daphne?” Harry asked.
Astoria turned thoughtful. ”I'm unsure. Maybe if we were younger and my uncle wasn't around.”
”Is blood ever exchanged like that for marriages?”
”Centuries ago.” She nodded. ”It was part of ancient druidic rituals. Now though, people just use contracts. Britain does, at least. My Uncle and Aunt don't have one, they took vows. Muggle vows.
”To be honest, that is a much better option. You see, the blood rituals meant that both parties were unable to harm each other magically. This meant the woman was often at risk from physical abuse as she couldn't over power the man. Because of this they were abandoned.
”Contracts were written by men though. The local authorities were always getting involved and they were always male and looked on women as inferior. The difference between the blood ritual and the contract was that the contracts specifically allowed husbands to 'discipline' their wives.” She said in disgust.
”With magic?”
”Exactly. That's why some families stick to the old ways. The Greengrasses do, my Uncle and Aunt have been talking about doing it for a second wedding.”
Harry felt just a little bit apprehensive at the dreamy look on the girl. He tried to move the discussion along.
”Alright, so I'm an orphan. I have no adopted family or guardian. I don't know if my godfather did the ritual before my parents died. What does that mean for someone like me?”
She gave him an apologetic shrug. ”Other than having no family, not a lot. You are the senior member of your family. My Grandparents could overrule my parents regarding my upbringing because their blood superseded theirs. My parents could do the same to me for my children. You have no one to overrule you regarding your children.”
”Do the wizards have social services?”
”I don't know what that is.”
”People like pol- aurors. They make sure children, families and the like are well treated.”
”I honestly don't know. I ȧssume that the aurors would handle those areas. Why?”
”Just curious.” Harry was now very uncomfortable. ”So… got a date for the Ball?” He asked, desperate to change the subject.
She looked at him through narrowed eyes. ”That was a pitiful excuse for an invite. I'll go with you Potter. But you had better be more of a gentleman than you are now.”
Harry just sat there non-plussed. He was just curious who she was going with. He wasn't offering.
He eventually broke out of his stupor to explain… but he was already alone.
Hermione had been amused when he told her what happened. She told him he should just be grateful he didn't have to ask someone. The twins had teased him mercilessly.
”You know you have to tell Ron.” Hermione warned him. ”If he finds out on the day he will cause a scene. Astoria is a Slytherin.”
That little encounter went about as well as one would expect. Ron was shouting and screaming and threatening to have Harry checked for potions.
But Harry had pulled out a trump card. ”Ron, I don't care what house she is in. Pettigrew was a Gryffindor and a traitor. You are a Gryffindor and you betrayed me.” He ignored Ron's indignant shock and that of the students in the common room. ”You accused me of entering my name even though you know I don't need the money or want the fame.
”I've been attacked by the worst Slytherin since Salazaar himself! Until you can say the same… keep your opinions to yourself!”
And Harry made a dramatic exit out the portrait door and into Professor McGonagall.
”Mister Potter!” She exclaimed as she pulled herself off the floor. ”What is the meaning of this?”
Harry was not in the mood. ”It's called an 'accident'.”
”Mind your manners, Mister Potter. You came charging out of there and nearly caused me an inj-”
”Screw you!” Harry was now reaching blinding rage. ”Snape is always banging doors and shoving students out of his way! And you have been the cause of far more of my injuries than I have of yours!”
And he marched off.
And so Harry found himself sitting in the cramped passageway he used for lessons with Astoria. It was after curfew and he didn't have his cloak or map. He didn't even have his school robes.
He hunkered down and used his arm for a pillow. Life suċkėd.
Harry was woken up by a rather vicious shaking.
”Wake up! You'll be late for class!”
”Wha? Hermione? S'at you?” He asked blearily as he searched for his glasses.
”I really hope Granger isn't a frequent visitor to your bed.” Came the cold response.
Harry popped his glasses on and looked up into the dangerous face of Astoria Greengrass. ”Only in the Hospital Wing.” He ȧssured her. ”Why are you here?”
”Granger said you stormed out of your common room after a fight with Weasley.” She transfigured her usual rock into a stool. ”She asked me if I knew where you might be.”
”But you didn't tell her, right?”
”Of course not! I'm a Slytherin. I know how important simple secrets can be.
”Why is McGonagall saying you attacked her?”
”WHAT? She fell over when I came out of the common rooms and startled her!”
”Granger says she claims you pushed her and were shouting at her.” Astoria was unfazed by Harry's outrage.
Harry slumped back onto the floor. ”Wow. Of all the people… I never expected she would…”
Astoria sat there, quietly waiting for Harry to say something. Everything was very tense.
”I guess I need to pack my things then.”
”Don't be so melodramatic, Harry.” She scoffed. ”I'm sure this can all be cleared up with a simple discussion.”
”Astoria, McGonagall has never believed me. She ȧssigns me dangerous detentions for ridiculous things. The only thing she wants from me is the Quidditch Trophy and House Cup.”
”Harry, if you are that worried, would you like me to call in my parents? You said you don't have anything except for muggle guardians. Mine could act as representatives for you.”
”Like lawyers?”
She shifted and blushed slightly. ”Like parents.”
”I wouldn't want to trouble them.”
”Good!” The girl beamed. She then pulled out a notebook from her bag. She wrote in it and then sat there patiently staring at it. ”They will be here within the hour.”
For most of that hour they sat in the cramped passageway and ate the toast that Astoria had brought with her. Harry chuckled when her notebook started vibrating.
She ignored him and checked the book before dragging him out of the passageway.
She took him to the Hogwarts gates where an old man with a cane was standing. He was wearing black robes over a suit with a waistcoat and gold pocket watch.
Had the man been a fair bit heavier and shorter, Harry might have thought he was looking at Winston Churchill.
”Granddad!” Astoria squealed in delight.
”Hello Sweatpea.” The old man smiled fondly through the gates. ”Your Dad said you needed some ȧduŀt help because your boyfriend got in trouble.”
Both Harry and Astoria went bright red.
”Harry seems to have gotten into a misunderstanding with Professor McGonagall.”
Harry immediately noticed she hadn't corrected her Granddad about him being her boyfriend. He decided to keep his mouth shut for now.
”Stand back, Harry. You too Miss.” Came Hagrid's firm voice as he walked up. ”What can we be doing for you today, sir?” The Groundskeeper asked politely but firmly.
”My granddaughter requested that I come and support her and her boyfriend and try to sort out some sort of misunderstanding between Mister Potter and the Deputy Headmistress.” The man smiled genially.
Hagrid scratched his thick beard. ”I'll have ta go and check with the Headmaster. Can't be letting people in willy-nilly, ya know.”
”No problem at all. I can wait here and talk to my granddaughter and Mister Potter.”
”Right then.” Hagrid nodded and walked off.
”Incidentally!” The man called out. ”My name is Nathaniel Greengrass. It might be something your Headmaster wishes to know.”
Hagrid blushed and nodded and quickened his pace.
Nathaniel drew his wand and conjured a chair for himself.
Harry summoned two stones from nearby and handed one to Astoria.
”That's wonderful, Stori!” Nathaniel beamed as he watched the pair transfigure the stones to stools. ”You must be top of your year in Transfiguration.”
”No Granddad, I just know a few things like that. It is useful for when Harry and I are discussing family.”
Nathaniel's eyebrow shot up. ”Family? Already? Does your father know? I trust you are not doing anything too mȧturė for your age.”
Harry wasn't sure what the man was talking about… but Astoria was bright red.
”Granddad! No! I have been teaching Harry about what family and blood means. Malfoy kept insulting his family and Harry didn't know what that meant for wizarding people.”
Nathaniel frowned and tapped the end of his cane into the ground a few times. ”Hmm, that is not good. It is not something you can truly help young Mister Potter with.”
”I have been!” She said indignantly.
Nathaniel smiled fondly. ”I have no doubt. But there are somethings you do not know and will never understand. Even Daphne won't truly understand, even if she does become the head of the family.
”You have done very well, I have no doubt. But Harry will need a man to talk to. I will see what I can arrange as you seem to have set your sights on him.”
Nathaniel chuckled as Astoria once again nearly hit the infra-red spectrum.
”Mister Greengrass, Headmaster Dumbledore has said he will meet with you.” Hagrid announced as he walked up, keys in hand.
Fortunately the trip to the Headmaster's Office was short and quiet. Hagrid walked them to the castle doors and then left.
It was only as they neared the office that Harry remembered that Hagrid was just as biased to Slytherins as Ron was.
”I don't know the password.” Harry realised as they reached the gargoyle.
”That is generally the idea.” Nathaniel chuckled. He turned to gargoyle. ”We are here to see Albus Dumbledore. Please inform him.”
The stone gargoyle just nodded.
”Oh… I've always just known the password or a teacher brought me.” Harry frowned.
”Been in the Headmaster's office often, then?” Nathaniel asked archly.
Harry ducked his head, shamed.
He flinched when a heavy hand gently landed on his shoulder, but relaxed slightly when he saw Nathaniel give him a reassuring look.
Soon the gargoyle stepped aside and Nathaniel stepped onto the stairs.
”Mister Greengrass, to what do I owe this pŀėȧsurė?” Dumbledore asked curiously as they entered the office.
”It seems that an altercation occurred last night between Mister Potter and your Deputy Head.” He explained as he pulled his wand and enlarged one of the seats opposite the desk. He then sat in the other and indicated for the kids to take the larger one. ”My granddaughter was worried for her boyfriend and asked me to come and be his advocate as he apparently has no guardians capable of doing so.”
”Yes, it is regrettable that Mister Potter is one of the few in such a unique position.” Dumbledore nodded. ”I have, of course, been informed of the incident. I have also called for Professor McGonagall to join us. Hopefully we can settle this matter calmly and quickly.”
And that was when McGonagall entered. She took one look at Harry and her face was set in stone. ”Headmaster?”
”Excellent, please take a seat Professor. Now, I have heard what happened last night-”
”From whom?”
”I beg your pardon?”
”From who have you heard what happened?” Nathaniel asked calmly.
”From Professor McGonagall.” Albus said as though it were obvious.
”And what have you been told?”
Albus simply turned to McGonagall. ”Professor, would you care to recount the events of last night?”
”I have given it once, already. But it does not surprise me that I must do so again.” She said tightly. ”Last night I was called to the Gryffindor common rooms due to reports of an altercation between Mister Potter and Mister Weasley.
”On arriving at the portrait, it smashed open and I was thrown violently to the floor. I looked up to see Mister Potter with a horrible expression. I reprimanded him verbally and he proceeded to back chat me and had the audacity to claim I had been responsible for injuring him!”
McGonagall was getting a bit of steam, but she was a professional and maintained her calm.
”Harry, does that meet with your recollection?” Nathaniel asked.
”I- I exited quickly.” Harry said carefully. ”I did-”
”Actually Harry, how about we have a look at your memories?” Nathaniel interrupted.
”I beg your pardon?” Albus asked in surprise.
”We can use the school pensieve to view what happened. That is still an acceptable method of resolving these sorts of issues, is it not? You haven't- You haven't lost the pensieve have you?” He asked aghast.
”Of course not! I just have never seen it used for such a purpose or even heard of such.”
”Headmaster Black?” Nathaniel turned to the portraits behind them.
”Yes, Greengrass. You know full well that when the pensieve wasn't being used in classes it was used for finding out which of you little brats was the troublemaker.” Came the snide voice from the portrait of an old sneering man.
Nathaniel turned back to Albus. ”Well?”
”I will need to remove my own memories from it.” Albus said as he moved to remove the basin from its cupboard.
”I abolished the practice as I felt it was an invasion of my student's privacy.” The portrait of Armando Dippet scowled.
”And one student was expelled solely on the word of another!” One the female portraits argued heatedly. ”It was a disgrace!”
”Thank you.” Nathaniel said loudly, silencing the portraits. ”I agree that it could be a rather invasive procedure, but, that is why we offer the option.
”Now, Harry, do you want to do this? We only the view the memory you allow us.”
Harry looked unsure, but Astoria squeezed his hand.
He had no idea when she had taken it.
”Ok.”
Nathaniel walked Harry through the process and soon the memory was in the basin.
Harry and Astoria watched as the three ȧduŀts vanished into the memory.
Harry was now uncomfortable for a new reason. ”Erm… Astoria? Are we… boyfriend and girlfriend now?” He looked down at their joined hands.
Astoria went bright red and she clearly fought her embarrassment. She tried to cover it with bravado and a bit of snootiness. ”Well we are going to the Yule Ball together. We do spend enough time together. I trust that you do enjoy our private times?” She asked archly… still red faced.
”Yes. I do. I just don't know what this all means.” Harry shrugged. ”What do boyfriends and girlfriends do? Do they get married?”
Years as the child of Slytherins and the youngest daughter allowed Astoria to maintain her composure… if not her skin colour. ”That is a possibility.” She said slowly. ”It is a choice to be made at a later date… when we are both older.”
”Oh. Ok. So what do I need to do?”
Astoria allowed herself to smile and relax a bit. ”Keep spending time with me.” She said in a softer tone. ”We don't have to always talk about our lessons. We can go to Hogsmede together and eat together at mealtimes.”
”Ok.” Harry nodded thoughtfully.
Further discussion was halted by the return of the ȧduŀts.
Dumbledore looked tired, McGonagall slightly smug and Nathaniel was frowning.
”Harry, lad, what did you mean when you said Professor McGonagall was responsible for your injuries?” Nathaniel asked as he scooped out the memory and returned it to Harry's head.
Harry looked stony as he placed his own wand to his temple and withdrew his memory. He simply nodded to Nathaniel who re-entered the pensieve followed by Dumbledore and McGonagall.
This time the newly established couple sat in silence. Although Astoria did lean into Harry, resting her head on his shoulder.
When the ȧduŀts emerged Dumbledore looked disappointed, McGonagall slightly confused and Nathaniel was livid.
”I don't know which of you two is more incompetent.” He snarled at the educators. He glared sharply at Dumbledore. ”You for 'hiding' an exceptionally dangerous artefact amongst children or you,” His glare snapped to McGonagall. ”For not even bothering to ȧssure the children that you would check on the dangerous artefact that was hidden in a school of childrenand discovered by a bunch of CHILDREN!”
Nathaniel was breathing heavily and pacing, leaning heavily on his cane.
”The stone was perfectly safe and would have remained so had-”
”Minerva.” Dumbledore interrupted his Deputy with quiet sternness. ”The security of the stone was based around secrecy. Three first years broke through that security, told you and yet you brushed them off.”
”But it was obvious it was in Hogwarts.” Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at Harry's comment. ”How else would Voldemort know it was here and pre-emptively get a job as a Professor?”
Dumbledore shook his head. ”He possessed Professor Quirrel during the summer. I believe he intended to rob the bank then and use the school as his base.”
”Why did Hagrid know then? Anyone who knows Hagrid and was curious about the third floor could have mentioned it and he would have slipped up. It's how we knew.”
”Whilst Hagrid is trustworthy, he does have his faults. He never would have willingly given up that information.”
”He told Voldemort about the Cerberus when he gambled and won a dragon's egg.” Harry pressed.
”I believe the young headmaster has mistaken 'loyal' for 'trustworthy'.” Nathaniel grunted. He removed the memory from the basin and returned it to Harry. ”I think I need to see the events that took place that got you injured, Harry.”
Once again, Harry was alone with Astoria. ”You didn't want to see?”
”You can show me in our family pensieve over the holidays.” She shrugged.
”I don't think my guardians will let me leave. They didn't even want me to come to Hogwarts.” Harry said sadly.
Astoria looked up at him and grinned. ”Don't worry, I can be very persuasive.”
Nathaniel had been livid when he exited the pensieve. He had declared his intent to take Harry to the Aurors immediately to report these incidents.
Dumbledore had objected, but it didn't matter if he was the Headmaster, Chief Warlock or Supreme Mugwump… Nathaniel was decades older and knew how to wield that kind of experience.
Which was why Harry was now sitting in the office of the Head Auror, Rufus Scrimageour, waiting for him to exit the department's pensieve.
Nathaniel had insisted that Harry show them the memories of anything he thought should be reported to the authorities.
That was four hours ago. It was now dark outside and Astoria was asleep on his shoulder.
”Astoria?”
Harry was roused from his silent vigil by a woman's voice. At the door to the office was a young couple. Harry nudged his sleeping companion. ”There is someone here to see you.”
Astoria groggily cleared her eyes (and surreptitiously wiped away her drool). ”Mum? Dad?” She looked around and remembered where she was. ”What are you doing here?”
”We were worried when Granddad didn't come home.” The man said with a frown. ”We contacted the school and they told us he had taken you to the Aurors. What is going on?”
Astoria was still tired. ”Ask Granddad. He's still in the pensieve. How long has it been, Harry?”
”Erm, nearly five hours?”
She shot up, wide awake. ”Five hours? How many memories did you give them? How did you just sit there without moving? You must be bored out of your mind.”
”I'm used to it.” Harry shrugged. His arm was feeling pretty cold without its pretty warmer. ”I just gave Mister Greengrass what he wanted. Memories of the bad things that happened at Hogwarts.”
”Excuse me, but, are you Harry Potter?” The woman asked curiously.
”Yes Miss.”
”Is Harry the one you wanted us to be an advocate for?”
”Yes Mum. It started as just Harry being accused of something, but Granddad… he started pulling at threads.” She grimaced.
”Merlin's beard.” The man muttered exasperatedly. ”Harry, are those your memories?”
”Yes sir. I don't know what they are currently watching though.”
”Would you mind if I entered so I can try and retrieve my wayward Grandfather?” He asked dryly.
”No sir.”
The man vanished into the pensieve leaving Harry alone with Astoria and the woman.
”I'm Astoria's mother.” The woman smiled. She had blonde hair like her daughters, she was wearing simple robes and a kind smile. She also looked very tired.
”Missus Greengrass?”