Runaway Home

Chapter Eight-

Risky Business

Harry couldn't help but stare.

Inside Hogwarts, as Professor Dumbledore called it, everyone wore those silly dresses. And there were so many! Students running around every which way...

Professor Dumbledore had taken him up a lot of flights of stairs (and some of them moved!) to a special room. They'd had to walk past it three times before Harry ever saw it, and when they went inside, there was a pair of jeans, a shirt, some "robes", as Professor Dumbledore said, and a pair of trainers. All in his size!

Harry'd never had new clothes, and it had felt rather odd to be wearing things that fit him so well. Professor Dumbledore had then waved his "wand" and said something funny, and all the dirt on his face and hands was gone.

Clean and dressed, Harry had then followed Professor Dumbledore back through the endless maze of stairs and hallways.

"You said that Sirius was hurt, Harry? Do you know how badly?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"My Uncle Vernon kicked him," Harry said angrily, "and that hurt him real bad... He wouldn't tell me though, like he didn't want me to know. He made funny little noises and faces though, whenever he had to move. And then this morning, a farmer shot him with a gun... He bled a lot." Harry felt a little frightened at that. Remus had said Sirius would be alright, but there'd been so much blood, and Sirius had seemed so hurt...

The hallways seemed darker now, and somehow colder. Harry shivered involuntarily. "Where are we going?"

"To see one of the teachers, Severus Snape. Professor Snape to you, Harry. He teaches Potions here at Hogwarts."

Potions? Harry felt dizzy at all the new things he was learning today.

Professor Dumbledore suddenly stopped at a heavy wooden door and knocked loudly.

"Enter," a cold voice answered from inside.

Harry kept close to Dumbledore as they went inside, as the room was rather frightening. Things floating in jars stood on shelves all around the dark, dingy room. Its only occupant was rather formidable looking with his sallow skin and hooked nose, but luckily he didn't notice Harry standing behind Dumbledore.

"I'm rather busy at the moment, Albus," the pale man said snappishly. "These seventh-year Hufflepuffs wouldn't know a simple Sleeping Draft from a Soldering Solution if their lives depended on it." He slapped his palm against the pile of papers on his desk with an irritated sigh.

"Then perhaps I can take your mind off your worries, Severus. I have need of a Blood Replenishing Potion, as quickly as you can make it."

Harry peeked around Professor Dumbledore enough to see the other man raise his eyebrow.

"For what, may I ask?"

"For replenishing blood, of course," Dumbledore said cheerily. "Take it up to my office when you're through, please, and leave it on my desk."

"Can't you get one from Pomfrey?"

"I need a stronger type than Poppy has available, Severus."

Snape gave a long-suffering sigh. "I'll try, but I've already got essays from th-"

"This is a higher priority, Severus, and you will have the potion on my desk within the hour. Understood?"

Harry shuddered a little at the headmaster's icy tone.

"As you wish, Albus," Snape said coolly.

Dumbledore smiled at Harry as they left the office, Harry still concealed from Snape's view.

"Is Sirius gonna be okay, Professor?" Harry asked timidly as they started back into the labyrinth of hallways.

"He's in good hands with Remus, Harry. He will be alright."

"But... he said that if they caught him, they'd do something bad to him..." Harry wrung his hands in his new robes.

"Harry, I assure you-"

"Albus!"

Both the boy and the headmaster looked up to see a flustered woman striding toward them.

"Yes, Minerva?"

"The Minister is here, he wants to talk to you about increasing the school's security or some such nonsense. I sent him to your office..." She paused on seeing Harry. "And who is this? Why, he looks just like..." Her eyes widened and she looked up at the headmaster in confusion.

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore said calmly.

Harry moved a bit closer to Dumbledore as the woman stared. He wasn't used to being stared at.

"But... how?"

"He arrived this morning at Remus Lupin's house in the company of Sirius Black. Who, it seems, is an unregistered Animagus." Dumbledore held up a hand for silence as the woman began to panic. "Hear me out, Minerva.

"Lupin is talking with Black right now. Black is wounded and restrained, and does not pose any immediate danger. I myself have not gotten the opportunity to speak with him, but Harry has, and is quite convinced of his innocence. Now, the Minister need not know that we have Black in our... care, so to speak, until we fully believe him to be guilty."

"But... Albus, Black is a murderer! We cannot-"

"He is not!"

Minerva McGonagall looked down to see a furious little boy glaring up at her, his hands clenched into fists.

"He's not a murderer! He's good and nice and he took care of me! He saved me from Dudley and Uncle Vernon!" Harry shouted.

McGonagall sent a shocked look to Dumbledore, who laid a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"If Sirius Black can convince Harry of his innocence, I see no reason why we shouldn't give him the same chance to convince us. We will wait until we hear what Lupin has to say, and continue from there.

"However, it would be best if Fudge didn't see Harry, so I will need you to look after him until I finish my business with the Minister."

"Albus, even if Black is innocent, he kidnapped Harry Potter!"

"Minerva, there is no need to shriek. I have reason to believe, from Harry's accounts of what happened, that Harry was being abused with his aunt and uncle. We will cross that bridge when we get to it. Until then, look after Harry, and if you see Lupin, keep him with you until I finish with Fudge. I will come to you."

Dumbledore put his other hand on McGonagall's shoulder. "Trust me, Minerva. I have a... a hunch, I suppose one would say." He smiled softly and patted her shoulder. "Now, I can't keep the Minister waiting." And with that, he turned and strode away.

"Oh my..." McGonagall rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Alright then, Mr. Potter... This way..."

Harry had a more difficult time keeping up with McGonagall's quick pace than with Dumbledore's., and he half-ran behind the stern woman.

They were soon back up into the lighter, warmer hallways. The students seemed to have thinned out now, and very few walked the halls. Some looked askance at Harry, but a stern look from McGonagall sent them on their way.

She led him to what seemed to be another office, albeit a much more pleasant one than the last.

"Sit down, then... would you like a biscuit?"

Harry shook his head quickly once again.

"Oh... what am I to do with you..."

Harry swung his legs back and forth. He was getting a bit anxious now, having been passed from Sirius' care to Remus' to Dumbledore's and now to this woman's in such a short time. The woman seemed even more flustered than he did, pacing around her office like a frightened cat.

Harry finally broke the silence. "Can you do magic too?"

She abruptly stopped pacing and looked at him in astonishment. "Of course I can," she said in a clipped voice.

"Sirius said that there was a whole world of magic people... I never knew about them though, until he told me. I haven't seen very much magic... Sirius showed me, he can turn into a dog, and Remus did some magic at his house, but that's all I've seen." Harry continued to swing his legs back and forth even though the woman was staring at him again.

"You really didn't know anything about magic?"

"No, Uncle Vernon said it wasn't real..." Harry's legs stopped swinging as he got the distinct impression he'd said something wrong.

The woman slid wearily into her chair on the other side of the desk and put her hand back to her eyes. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes.

Then a loud bark sounded from the outside of the door.

"Sirius!"