Chapter - 41 : The True Face of Authority

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"You what?" Harry all but snarled.

Dumbledore sighed sadly, and looked down at Harry from his perch at the Head Table. "I am truly sorry, my dear boy, but we were simply unprepared."

"Unprepared? We told you everything there was to know about Pettigrew, we told you he was an illegal animagus."

It was the morning following the events in the Shrieking Shack, after Harry and his friends had foolishly handed Pettigrew over to Dumbledore.

The previous night, in an asinine show of trust, the six third years had explained all that had happened to them to the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall. They had been sure to tell everything exactly as it had happened, careful not to leave a single detail out, lest it somehow affect Sirius' case. And then, after warning the two adults multiple times about Pettigrew's illegal ability, and in turn, being assured multiple times that they had everything in hand, they turned Pettigrew over to the Headmaster. Apparently that had been a mistake.

While McGonagall had her head stuck in the fireplace, calling the Ministry, and Dumbledore was sitting at his desk enjoying a lemon drop, Pettigrew woke up and, after transforming into a rat, escaped with ridiculous ease.

But as Harry stared at the old headmaster, he had a feeling that it was no accident. For some reason Dumbledore had let Pettigrew escape. It was in the way he looked down at Harry, with that sickeningly sweet grandfatherly expression that Harry knew was nothing but a mask, a mask to hide his true face.

"Yes, you did warn us," Dumbledore nodded "but I'm afraid we had, in the presence of a single unconscious wizard, let our guards down. I will never forgive myself for that."

"You are a fool, Headmaster," Harry hissed.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall exclaimed.

"No, Professor," Harry barked, his voice was laced with such cold fury the woman fell silent. Harry turned back to Dumbledore. "You are a fool, Headmaster," he repeated, "but do not make the grave error of mistaking me for one. We both know that Pettigrew's escape was no accident, a wizard of your caliber is not capable of making such a monumental blunder.

"Your actions have finally allowed me to see your true face, Dumbledore, and it is a horrible, disgusting thing." All of the students and teachers assembled in the hall for breakfast watched in silent shock and maybe just a bit of awe as a third year dared to speak to Dumbledore as no one had before. "You are a manipulative bastard no better than the dark lord you were praised for defeating."

Dumbledore's face paled. "I am not the enemy, Mr. Potter," he said softly.

Harry laughed coldly. "Aren't you? While you sat sucking on your lemon drops and basking in your own greatness with your head planted firmly up your ass, an innocent man rotted in Azkaban, and now, because of your manipulations, that same man must hide from the very people he once sought to protect." Harry slowly backed away from the table, a vicious sneer curling his lips. "You said you were sorry, Headmaster, but I am the one who is sorry, sorry for entrusting my godfathers life with an asinine fool like you."

"One hundred points from Slytherin!" McGonagall shouted, her face was flushed with outrage. "And detention with me for the rest of the year! Never have I ever seen such blatant disrespect."

Before Harry could tell McGonagall exactly where she could shove her detention, a hand landed on his shoulder and gently led him from the hall; it was only when he was being seated in someone's office with a cup of tea being presented to him did the red clouding his vision begin to abate and he realized who he was sitting across from.

"Thank you, Professor."

Snape scoffed softly into his own cup of tea. "I must say, Potter, you are not at all what I expected."

Harry arched a single eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"When I first met you, all I could see was James Potter, you had the same dark hair, the same mischievous glint in your eyes and I wanted to hate you. But then as you refused to be cowed by my presence and continued to come to me with not only intelligent, but profound questions, I saw your mother, I saw Lily. But now, looking at you, I realize that you are neither of your parents, you are your own man, Potter, and that man may not turn out like the rest of the idiotic simpletons that pollute this planet."

Harry gaped at the man, unsure how to take the maybe compliment. "Thank you, I think."

Snape sniffed softly and took another sip of tea. "Hurry and be done with your tea and I will escort you back to the common room, I advise you to stay there at least until lunch, give things time to settle down."

After the two had finished their drinks, they walked in a surprisingly comfortable silence to the common room.

Harry gave the password to the wall and then turned back to Snape. "Thank you, Professor," he said softly, "for…everything."

"Don't mention it, Potter, and I mean that, not ever." Harry laughed and made to go into the common room, but paused when Snape continued speaking. "And take one hundred points to Slytherin, for truths long overdue, and take another for sheer Gryffindor bravery. Unfortunately, I can do nothing for your detentions."

Harry grinned. "That's all right, Professor, the joke's on McGonagall, we've barely got a week left of term anyway."

The sound of the thirteen year old's joyful laughter followed him all the way back to his office.

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Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.

You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.

Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!

http//patreon.com/Kun_kanshi

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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