Chapter- 29 : Interrogation Part - 4
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The Great Hall doors were locked.
Harry had had a moment of deja-vu as he rapped his knuckles on the hard wood. The gesture hardly made any noise on the dense oak and achieved nothing beyond hurting his hand.
Irritated, he retreated two steps and sent a Knockback Jinx at the right half of the double doors. The massive slab of wood rattled in its frame and Harry smirked. Those inside would have definitely heard that.
Indeed, a soft glow and a loud click signified the door unlocking and Harry pushed it open only to come to a full stop just beyond the threshold.
The feeling of deja-vu grew stronger as for the second time in as many weeks he came face to face with a room filled with members of the Order of the Phoenix. Had he known, he would not have chosen to set foot in this company again, which, in retrospect, was probably why Dumbledore's message had lacked any mention them.
Before he could even think of turning right back around Dumbledore shot several spells past him, closing and locking the door once more and very effectively preventing him from escaping.
"Getting off to a wonderful start already," Harry muttered, scowling, but he curbed his instinct to start ranting at the lot of them. Instead he clenched his jaw and squared his shoulders while his gaze took in the assembled people.
Twenty-something Order members were once more huddled around the Gryffindor table with Dumbledore at its head sitting in one of his conjured plush armchairs. Harry stalked in their direction before passing them completely and taking a stand with his back to the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.
It was a stance of feigned nonchalance as it allowed him to keep everyone in his line of sight, while his wand hand was quite close to his opposite sleeve allowing him to draw his wand at a moment's notice. The only thing betraying the tension he felt were his eyes, which flashed angrily as they flitted across faces, alert for any kind of threat.
"You asked for me, Headmaster?" He tried for a forcibly even tone, but instead it just came out silky and bitterly sarcastic. Only after he spoke did he realise how much his actions and tone resembled those of the greasy bat of the dungeons just now and he blanched.
His eyes sought Snape out in the crowd and widened slightly when he couldn't find him. Had something happened to him? Was he not a spy here? Or were they keeping his identity secret?
Unfortunately he wasn't the only one to have noticed the similarities.
"There's two of them now?" Tonks whispered in dismay, her voice echoing farther than she'd intended in the silence. Remus, who was seated next to her, choked back what could either have been a laugh or a sob before straightening and sliding two inches along the bench, farther away from her.
Harry stared at the parents of his godson and their very uncharacteristic mating dance. Obviously Tonks hadn't caught her wolf yet. She noticed him staring though and her pink hair wilted slightly, the tips turning a faint yellow as she averted her eyes.
"Indeed I did," Dumbledore interrupted, eyes twinkling happily. He turned to Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Kingsley, you're the only one who hasn't reported yet, can you make it quick?"
A solemn nod was his answer and the man stood at attention to begin his report. "The Death Eater attack on the Millennium and Brockdale bridges in London yesterday killed some hundred Muggles and injured another sixty or so. The only good news is that there were no children among the dead. The Muggle Prime Minister knew wizards were involved before I was able to tell him though, because the Obliviators missed a witness. The man is absolutely furious. He demanded we get the Ministry in order and 'confine these terrorists to our little secret society'. His words."
Kingsley's voice was deep and warm while his attitute was that of a consummate professional. It was a harsh contrast with the cold, miserable facts he was summarising.
Harry clenched his jaw but otherwise did not outwardly react. Inside, however, his thoughts were running a mile a minute. The list he'd given Madam Bones had this attack practically at the top. What the hell happened?
Dumbledore bowed his head. "I think a moment of silence is in order. Let us remember the innocent men and women whose lives were so tragically cut short."
In solidarity Harry closed his eyes and inwardly spoke a brief prayer for the poor departed souls even as he tried not to feel guilty for not doing more to save them. A stubborn tear burned a trail down his cheek anyway and angrily he swiped it away.
He'd alerted the one in charge of preventing these kinds of things to the attack days beforehand, dammit. Everything that happened after was not his fault.
"Thank you," Dumbledore spoke once more, breaking the silence and Harry swallowed thickly. "It is important to remember those that are lost to us, but even more so to never lose hope."
Harry shook his head to clear it and opened his eyes to find Dumbledore staring at him over his half-moon glasses.
"For hope can be found in many forms if only we know where to look for it."
Harry held his gaze for a moment, until the Headmaster broke it and turned to the Order members.
"Thank you, Kingsley. Your work with the Prime Minister is invaluable."
Kingsley nodded in thanks and sat down again.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "With regular Order business concluded that brings us to Mr. White, our visitor from another world, whom we last spoke with a week ago. I am hopeful that now that tempers have had time to cool we can work together."
Harry gave that remark all the attention it deserved and ignored it utterly.
"Visitor implies having a choice, Headmaster," Harry interjected with a patently false smile.
"True," Dumbledore admitted softly, regretfully. He straightened, absently flicking aside his beard and twinkling blue eyes that shone with sincerity met Harry's. "On behalf of the Order of the Phoenix I would like to apologise for any and all hardship that you have suffered here."
Harry stared at him.
"Prophecy has laid the weight of our world on the shoulders of a fifteen year old girl. Nobody in this world can help her in her task. We were desperate and realised that calling for a hero was at best morally ambiguous, but at least then the burden would fall to an adult, someone trained and fitting the qualities we asked for." He let out a deep sigh. "We expected Merlin reincarnated, which in hindsight was quite foolish of us. That does not, however, excuse our deplorable behaviour in interrogating you in such a hostile fashion when it became apparent that you play a part in a way we had not foreseen and do not yet understand."
"I... What?" Harry's mouth snapped shut in frustration as his brain ground to a halt at this unexpected turn of events. Way to come across all fiery vengeance and indomitable will, Harry. Good show.
Still, Dumbledore, apologising?
He closed his eyes and mentally ran over the apology a few times before they snapped to Dumbledore's once more and narrowed in suspicion. "You're apologising for the interrogation, but not the actual kidnapping?"
The Headmaster smiled sadly. "We are very sorry that this happened to you and acknowledge it is not in any way fair, but could you honestly leave thousands to die and do nothing to prevent it, even if your only option was distasteful?"
"There are lines one does not cross, Headmaster," Harry said icily.
"Unfortunately where to draw them will forever remain a matter of debate," Dumbledore argued genially.
Harry swallowed the scathing retort on the tip of his tongue and reminded himself that he was Harry bloody Potter and not a teenage girl in a tiff. "I'm quite sure we will never agree, especially on this subject so lets move on," he said instead before trying to take control of the conversation. "Having acknowledged that your actions against me have been unfair in the extreme, how will you be compensating me?"
Dumbledore blinked. "Compensating?"
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If you're eager to delve deeper into the story, consider joining my Patreon for exclusive content and early access to new chapters
70+Advanced Chapters there.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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