The Weight of the World

Chapter 18 - Driven Out

The following day Dumbledore, Moody and Lupin had a closed door meeting. The meeting had to do with the fact that Dumbledore would most likely be suspended from the school. Dumbledore didn't fear for his job, the truth is that material wealth had never been anything he desired. His fear had to do with the students that he was leaving behind. Harry didn't have a safe place to go. Dumbledore knew that if he stayed behind without his or Moody's protection, Harry would be put at risk. Harry was a very capable wizard, but the Death Eaters knew where to find him, and thanks to Lucius Malfoy, it was just a matter of time before they knew that Harry Potter wouldn't have Dumbledore there to protect him. He wouldn't have felt as concerned if he didn't think that Fudge would most likely remove Moody from the school as well. Even as powerful as a wizard as Dumbledore was, he was in the later years of his life, and Moody, although he didn't have Dumbledore's mind, was a force to be reckoned with even for someone like Voldemort. Albus Dumbledore had made a decision. It was time for him and Harry to have a very important discussion.

Ron and Meagan left early that morning, as they had done the last couple of days, to grab some toast from the kitchen, and take off for a long walk around the grounds of the castle. Meagan had lived in a city for most of her life and she loved the peaceful walks around Hogwarts, especially with Ron accompanying her. She had really begun to like Ron. He had a lot of things she liked about him, but mostly it was his honesty. She had never met a boy before who had been more honest with her than Ron Weasley. He told her all about his brothers, and his insecurities dealing with following in their footsteps. He told her all about what it was like to be the Great Harry Potter's best friend, both the good and the bad. But mainly it was the small things. He was always very polite to her. He didn't interrupt her when she was talking. He always seemed interested in what she had to say. And even though he had grown a lot over the last year and was larger than most boys their age, he was very sensitive. She had grown very comfortable spending time with him over the past week as Ron was with her.

Ron and Meagan's time alone had left Harry and Hermione alone together as well. They had always been comfortable together over the years though. In fact last year when Ron and Harry had their falling out, Hermione was Harry's only real friend. He didn't think he would have been able to get through that last year without her. But things had become a bit different between them both over the past couple of weeks. Harry had found out that he had a bit more than just a friend in Hermione. He had never really thought of her as a girlfriend before. Even last year when he was trying to find someone to ask to the formal dance, she hadn't crossed his mind. He had been so caught up in his crush with Cho, that he had never even considered Hermione. He had thought to himself about this a lot over the past few days. He remembered that night at the ball, and that the most beautiful girl there had been Hermione, and it wasn't just he who had thought so. The whole school was talking about the girl that Victor Krum had come to the dance with. The problem remained however that Harry didn't want to risk losing her as a friend. She was too important to him to lose, and he would rather have her as a friend for the rest of his life, than have her for a girlfriend for what might be just a short time. He had confidence in their relationship, but he was the Famous Harry Potter and the bad things that seemed to follow he and his loved ones, didn't let him see much chance of having more than just a friendship with Hermione.
"Harry have you started looking though any of your OWL study guides yet?" Hermione asked him from across the common room.

"Hermione, it's the beginning of the summer. We have loads of time before we even start school, much less OWLs,” Harry said from behind the Daily Prophet.

"You really should at least start.."

"Hermione! Listen to this!" Harry said as he stared intently at the newspaper.

"Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, found dead on grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” Harry read on.

Two days ago, members of the summer staff at Hogwarts found the body of Draco Malfoy at the base of the Astronomy Tower. School officials say that the boy had shown up the night before his death, injured and in obvious distress and that he committed suicide by jumping off of the highest tower at the school. Lucius Malfoy isn't so sure. He has asked for an investigation into the death of his son. "I have asked the Ministry of Magic to investigate his death. I do not believe that my son committed suicide." The Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge seems to agree with him. "There are circumstances that we will be investigating regarding the boy's death. His father reported him missing the night before he was found dead and no one at the school including the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, have been unable to explain how he turned up there in the first place.

We are going to sort this all out and will make sure that if there was any foul play, we will find it.

A meeting is taking place this morning between Ministry Officials and school governors, where it is expected that Albus Dumbledore will be suspended while the investigation is taking place. According to the Ministry, this is only one of many controversial events that have taken place at the school over the past year or so. An unnamed school governor said that they have been candidly looking for a replacement for Albus Dumbledore, but have simply been unable to find any worthy candidates.

After the events of the Tri-Wizard tournament that resulted in the death of Cedric Diggory, and now the unexplained death of Draco Malfoy, there are probably many parents who may think twice before letting their children attend the school next fall.

The Ministry says it is going to make sure that these worries are addressed.

We'll report more on this story as events unfold.

Harry stared at the paper for a second, and then looked up at Hermione. She had the same surprised look on her face that Harry had. But both of the surprised looks went quickly to worried ones.

"Oh no," Harry said. "They're going to force Professor Dumbledore to leave the school."

"Harry they can't do that can they? They can't just suspend him after all he had done for this school?"

"Hermione, I don't know. It seems that way though. Fudge and Malfoy together can cause problems for anyone, even Professor Dumbledore," Harry said.

"There has to be something we can do," Hermione said. "There has to be someone who can set them straight. We can't just sit around and let."

"Ms Granger, I do appreciate your concern, but I must ask that you not interfere in the business of the Ministry."

Dumbledore was standing behind them smiling.

"Professor!" Harry said as he stood up and threw the paper on the floor.

"Harry I was coming to talk to you about what you have just read in the paper,” he said.

"Professor, how can they do this? I'll talk to them Professor. I'll tell them about what I saw, and what Draco told me. They'll have to listen to me sir."

"Harry I am afraid that these are very complicated times. Cornelius Fudge and Lucius Malfoy are not just trying to cause problems for me. They may just end up trying to hurt both of us."

"Both of us? What do you mean sir?" Harry asked him.

Dumbledore walked to one of the large chairs and sat down. He then was about to begin talking again, when he stopped and looked at Hermione. "Ms. Granger, do you think that you might leave Harry and alone for a second?"

"Yes sir,” She said and turned to leave.

"Professor, if you don't mind, I would really rather Hermione be here. I tell her everything anyway so it just might save me the trouble. Unless that is, of course sir that you insist we be alone,” Harry said very seriously.

Dumbledore looked at Hermione and smiled a very warm smile. Almost as though she had done something that he was very proud of.

"Of course she can stay Harry,” Dumbledore said.

Hermione felt as though she had just scored 120% on an exam, but it was more than that. She felt as though she had earned Harry's ultimate trust. She tried her best to hide the smile that was almost tearing her face apart, but the seriousness of the situation brought her back down to Earth.

"Harry, as you know, the Ministry has yet to acknowledge the fact that Voldemort has returned to power. Since they have not done so yet, Lucius Malfoy still holds a powerful place in society. He is using Fudge and the unfortunate incident with Draco to implicate that both you and I might have been responsible. The Ministry has a signed document from the governors of Hogwarts that orders my suspension effective immediately. They have also named Cornelius Fudge as the acting Headmaster. Harry, I would like to tell you that everyone will be safe here while Fudge runs the school, but this just wouldn't be true and it troubles me. Fudge has also told me that you will be investigated as a suspect in the death of Draco Malfoy."

"Me? They think that I had something to do with Draco's death?" Harry asked.

"Professor that's ridiculous. If anything Harry was trying to help Draco, not hurt him,” Hermione said.

"Hermione, I do not believe that Harry had anything to do with Draco's death. I also do believe that Harry was trying to help him. But the fact of the matter is that Lucius Malfoy is a very dark wizard that will stop at nothing to cause problems for both Harry and myself. He has told Fudge that Harry all but admitted to being involved in Draco's death, when Harry spoke to him outside my office."

"Harry you never told me you said anything to Draco's dad about that?"

"I didn't Hermione. He said a few things to me that made me very angry, and I did respond to him, but I never said anything like that. In fact I told him that I knew that he and Voldemort had something to do with Draco's injuries."

"You did what?!?!" Hermione yelled.

Dumbledore help up a finger that stopped their conversation.

"Hermione, I heard the conversation between Lucius Malfoy and Harry. Harry was provoked a bit, but he did nothing more than I myself would have done. Harry only spoke this way to him after he had threatened Harry's life. Harry then simply told him, as I told him, that we both knew that he had been involved in the situation regarding Draco's injuries. But that is in the past now."

Dumbledore slowly got up out of the chair and momentarily went to the window and stared at Ron and Meagan holding hands walking slowly outside on the grounds. He let a small smile creep across his face at the sight of this. When he turned back around, Harry could see how very old and tired Dumbledore suddenly looked.

"Harry this situation causes complications that I did not foresee and has put you in danger. We have to take measures to protect you Harry, but I don't think that forcing you into hiding away from your friends is the answer at least not a long term answer. No matter what the Ministry finds in their investigation, I want you to remain here at the castle until I can make arrangements for you to stay the remainder of the summer elsewhere. Hermione, I will talk to both your and Ron's parents and inform them that I recommend that you return home for the summer."

"Professor, I don't want to go home. I can't leave Harry here by himself,” She said.

"Hermione, it's won't be safe here if Professor Dumbledore isn't around. You know that," Harry said.

"Then you can go home with me. My parents are both muggles, Voldemort would never think to look for you there. I can talk to them, they won't mind,” She said with a worried voice.

"Hermione, I can't do that. I would never put you and your parents in danger, Lucius Malfoy knows that we are friends he could find us if he really wanted to," Harry said.

"Hermione, Harry is right. Plus, you and your parents wouldn't be able to provide any defense if something did happen and you found yourself in danger."

Hermione started to talk again but Dumbledore put his hand up.

"Listen to me, both of you," Dumbledore said. "I have asked the Ministry for a week to get my affairs in order here. They have granted me this request. I will meet with Moody and we will immediately begin a plan to ensue the protection of this school once the students are back. I will have support from the staff here and will be able to keep a close watch on things. I will also tell you that I will not be far away. I will need some time with my thoughts to plan your protection for the next two months Harry. I will meet with Arthur Weasley tomorrow and I will inform him of the plans we have made. Hermione, I will also write to your parents and will tell them to expect you back in a week's time. This decision is final and I ask that you honor this and understand that it is for the best,” Dumbledore said.

Hermione had a tear in her eye, but she nodded at Dumbledore to show that she would obey.

"Now Harry, there is one thing that I need you to do starting tomorrow morning,” Dumbledore said.

"Yes sir?" Harry said.

Dumbledore reached into his robe and pulled out his wand. He closed his eyes and gave his wand a quick wave. A very bright light, that looked almost like a small star appeared on the table before him. The light became quickly brighter then went out leaving a very old looking wooden box that was decorated in sparkling rubies. Dumbledore tapped the box with his wand and the top of the box disappeared leaving clearly what Harry recognized as a Pensieve. It wasn't the same Pensieve that he had seen in Dumbledore's office, but he knew it was a Pensieve nonetheless.

"Harry tomorrow I need for you to spend some time with this,” Dumbledore said.

"Are these more of your thoughts sir?" Harry asked.

Hermione just stared at the box. She had never seen a Pensive before. She had never even read about them and she had no idea what it was.

"Harry these are the thoughts of Godric Gryffindor. It is in here you will learn more about your birthright. It is in here you will understand who you are," Dumbledore said.

Harry didn't know what to say. He wanted to explore the Pensive right away. He didn't know why Dumbledore wanted him to wait, but Dumbledore always had his reasons.

Harry sat down on the couch across from the Pensieve and stared at it. The swirling substance inside was almost hypnotizing. It seemed to called to him. It took him a second to realize that he had become caught up in it and he pulled his focus back to Professor Dumbledore.

"Harry, don't trouble yourself with what's going on now. You concentrate on this Pensieve tomorrow and let me take care of addressing the other problems," he said.

Dumbledore then looked at Hermione smiling. "Hermione, when you return to your home next week do not let these events distract you from your OWL studies. Between you and me, I have a friendly wager with Professor McGonagall that you will top her scores from when she went to school here."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at this. Professor Dumbledore always had a way of making them all feel so safe, and right now they still felt this way. Although both were unsure about what might happen next week when he would be forced out.

Hermione didn't want to go home. She didn't want to leave Harry while he went into hiding until the start of the school year.

"I will see the both of you for dinner. I have been craving a dragon burger since early this morning. I almost asked Dobby if he minded making me one for breakfast, but then I decided to hold my craving until tonight,” he said as he walked out of the common room.

Harry kept staring at the Pensieve. Hermione got up from where she was sitting and walked over and sat down next to Harry. She took his hand in hers and began to stare at the Pensieve with him.

"What is that Harry?" she asked quietly.

"It's a Pensive,” he said.

"What does it do?"

"It holds people's thoughts. Dumbledore has one in his office that he uses to put his memories in. When they are placed in one of these, anyone can visit them and see the memories the exact way that the person who deposited them did."

Hermione's eyes got wide as she went from looking at Harry, to looking back at the Pensieve.

"So Godric Gryffindor's personal thoughts are in there?"

"I guess so,” Harry said. "All those books I have been looking through, all that information I've been looking for, it's all now right in front of me."

"Why do you suppose he wants you to wait until tomorrow Harry?" she asked.

"I don't know. I am going to put it in my trunk thought, these things can be very distracting," he said thinking of when he found himself in Dumbledore's.

Harry let go of her hand and picked up the Pensieve and then carried it slowly up to his dorm room. He carefully sat it down in his trunk and used his wand to magically lock it in there. When he turned around Hermione was standing behind him.

"Harry, I don't want to leave you alone after next week. Do you know how sick I will be with worry?" she said as her voice cracked a bit.

Harry stared at her for a second, then walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her giving her a deep hug.

"I don't want to be away from you either Hermione. But Professor Dumbledore is right. It's better this way until school starts. I can't believe that idiot Fudge is doing this, but I think Professor Dumbledore and Moody will figure out something. They're both really brilliant."

She put her head under his chin and started to cry softly.

"It's okay Hermione. Everything will be fine," he said.

She broke away from him for a second and looked up into his eyes. He wiped one of the tears off of her cheek and smiled at her.

"Harry, that meant a lot to me when you asked Professor Dumbledore if I could stay in the room when he talked to you."

"I trust you Hermione. I've always trusted you."

She pulled him back into a hug. "I'm really scared Harry. If Dumbledore isn't here, Voldemort could attack the castle any time he wants to. We could all be here at school and he could come right in and kill us all."

"We wouldn't just let that happen, Hermione. They'll think of something, don't worry."