Harry's POV
After a much-deserved sleep, Harry went downstairs to see Remus fussing over a very drunk Sirius. "Good God, what happened to him," the boy asked, seeing the man he thought was recovering from his stay in Azkaban slumped over crying. Sirius was holding a pillow and saying over and over again that his godson was doomed.
"I don't know," Lupin stated. "I came down and he was like this." His was rubbing his friend's back, trying to show him that Harry was safe and now no one controlled him.
"Well, shite. I hate to do this, but we'll never find out what's up if he's like this," the somber teen stated, lifting his finger and casting a sobering charm on the man.
Sirius was no longer drunk, but the melancholy was still there. He looked around and saw the two most important people in his life standing there with worried looks on their faces. "Shite," he mumbled, running a hand down his face. "Sorry, I had a nightmare that Harry was being controlled, and after what happened last night, it was just too much," he confessed, keeping it as honest as possible. Death had haunted his dreams all night. He pictured Harry chained to the man and doing deeds that he knew the teen would not want to do.
"After what you told me when you got home, I can understand that. It's not every day one takes down a Dark Lord. It must have been hard to watch," Remus said, knowing that Sirius thought of Harry as a son. "Are you better now? You can see that Harry is here and no one is controlling him." He cursed Dumbledore for manipulating Harry's life up until the boy had lost his memory. If that hadn't happened, then Sirius would not have thought that the whole thing last night was just one big set up. It was the only reason that the werewolf felt that his best mate would feel this way.
"Yeah, I think I am. So, what are we doing today?" the dogman inquired, changing the subject as quickly as he could but still looking around the room like Death would pop out at any moment. Harry and Remus shared a look at those fearful glances, each thinking that the man was looking for Dementors.
"I've got to get the store set up," the werewolf answered, trying ease Sirius worries, so he knew there was nothing to fear. He'd have to get Padfoot alone later to see if there was anything he could do to chase away those memories, without booze. Until then they'd just have to move on. "We should be opening after the holidays. I wanted to open before then, but paperwork held me up."
"Oh, hey, can we talk about something after you get it set up? There's some things I want to do with some of the profits," Harry asked, his mind plotting with an idea he had had for quite a while. He was hoping to get it done soon, with winter here it would be needed. Perhaps he could pull it off in a smaller version until Remus got the store up and going.
"I thought the profits were going to the school?" was the confused answer. They had the vault set up to take any income from the furniture and jewels that they had found in the room. There were even some weapons and armor, which he was told would fetch quite a price. That's what kept the store from opening in time. He needed to have a special license to see the ancient swords. Something about not selling to minors, keeping them in locked cases, and such things.
"I'll donate a few things and used the profits from those," the teen said. He had some stuff he could part with. "There's just a few things I'd like to get done, and I need the receipts from the sales."
"Okay," Remus drawled, wondering what Harry was up to now. He hoped it wasn't illegal. There was no telling with that boy these days. "Get with me after we've been open for a week or so. I should have my schedule cleared by then."
"Will do. Hey, Sirius, I think we need to go to see Bones. I want to see if there's any fallout from last night."
"Sure, why not," the depressed man said. He wondered when he was going to snap out of this mood. He had spent too much time in Azkaban feeling this way and he didn't like it. Maybe he needed to see a specialist. He never fully recovered from prison anyway and all the self-help books only took you so far. It was something he had been contemplating for a while now. He'd have to go muggle, they would never tell anyone.
The glamored men went to the Ministry. Harry was happy so see that the news of Voldy's demise had not leaked, and the only thing people were talking about is how Malfoy snapped and killed the guard. They made it to Bones' office and were shown in by the secretary. They opened the door just in time to see Amelia throw a cup of tea at the wall.
"Don't have to ask how you're doing. What happened?" Harry asked, taking his usual chair.
"Malfoy might walk," she snarled, picking up a paperweight and throwing it at the same wall, causing it to dent. She had been trying for years to arrest that man, and with Fudge gone she thought it was in the bag. Now, blasted truth charm made her job more difficult.
"What!? How is that possible, he killed a guy!?" the teen shouted, making Bones turn her anger on to him.
"Because of the truth spell you put on the courtrooms, he confessed that he was possessed. That makes him non-culpable. It is just like he said after the war, only then he lied and said he was under the Imperius. This time he doesn't even have to bribe anyone," she snapped, picking up another paperweight and chucking it at the door.
"Hey, don't blame me. I didn't possess the guy. Why don't you just ask him if it was willing, and if he had been ordered to kill that man. I mean, come on Malfoy is evil, from what I've been told. It should be easy," Harry said, waving his hand and fixing the room. The cup flew back together, and the paperweights floated to the desk. The dents in the walls straightened out, and the tea disappeared.
Amelia sighed and sat down again. He had a point, all they needed to do is word the questions correctly and the man would spend the rest of his life in prison. Still it was unnerving the way Malfoy slithered out of things. She wrote a few things down and then looked at Harry. "Why did you give the horcrux to the DoM?" she asked deceptively soft.
"I thought it would help you out if more people were on the watch out for them," he answered honestly, not sure what the problem was.
"The Department of Mysteries doesn't work well with the rest of the Ministry. They like to keep their secrets, it was only because they captured You… Voldemort that they even let me know that they had one. Next time, and Merlin forbid there ever be a next time, next time tell me what you're doing. I can't do my job if I don't know all the facts," she stated firmly.
"Sure, sorry, I really was only trying to help," the teen said quietly.
"Amelia, what do you remember from last night?" Sirius asked, wondering if he truly was the only one who knew.
"After you got here, not much. I remember meeting you, Harry badmouthing the Dark Lord, Voldemort going through the Veil, and me arresting Malfoy. That's about it," she confessed, not telling them that no one in the DoM remembered anything. The whole department was running around in a frenzy trying to find how what happened. It was making her case harder. If it weren't for the fact Malfoy was caught red-handed, plus the monitoring charms around atrium and DoM, she would have nothing to stand on. The Death Room's monitor was completely blank, so they had no clue as to what happened after everyone entered.
"Well, I guess it all worked out well then," Harry said happily.
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