Under the Sea

Chapter Nine

Albus looked over the sleeping form of the young boy and sighed. It had been a few days since he had obliviated young Harry and yet Poppy refused to let the boy go for at least another day. Her reasoning was that they didn't know how the potion would affect the boy but Albus suspected that Minerva had gotten to her. There was no other reason to keep Harry as long as she had.

He knew that what he had done was unforgivable, and that if Harry ever managed to get his memories back, he could destroy Albus. That was the reason why he didn't remove the memories of Mr. Weasley and Ms. Tonks. Both their families would have noticed something was amiss instantly. The two families apart were scary enough but combine the two and there would have been a force even Albus' political power couldn't protect him from.

However, that didn't change the fact that the two teens now knew about the boy—even if they didn't seem to know his true identity. Charlie probably would have invited the young boy to visit had the sleeping potion not kicked in when it had. That would have ruined everything. Maybe someday young Harry would be able to visit the Weasleys but for now, it was safer for him to be with his aunt and uncle.

"Albus?" Poppy's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Yes Poppy?" Albus turned to her. The matron glared at the headmaster but sighed before continuing to speak.

"With the exception of signs of obliviation, I can find nothing wrong with Mr. Potter that you do not already know about."

Oh yes, Poppy had chewed his ear off for an hour after Mr. Potter had run off. Her scans had picked up the damage five years of living with the Dursleys had done—damage that even the few months with Triton had yet to undo. Albus had to wonder if Triton even knew about it all.

"Despite my better judgment," Poppy sighed as she pulled the blanket over the sleeping boy, pulling Albus once more out of his thoughts, "I would say that Mr. Potter is able to return to his relations in the morning."

Albus smiled and left the Hospital Wing. In a day, young Mr. Potter would be reunited with his family. All would be right with his world.

After a string of bad days, this was a good one. The weather was even settling down for once, and the lake seemed to finally calm down.

000

His good day was instantly ruined as Minerva approached him in his office, glaring at him in a way that reminded him of her Animagus form.

"Well?" she asked, stalking over to his desk. Albus briefly pondered the thought that Severus had been giving her lessons. "Don't tell me that you're actually going to send Potter back there? After what happened a few days ago, one would think that would get it through your thick skull. Potter obviously doesn't want to return to his relatives so why are we forcing him to?"

"It is the safest place for him, Minerva," Albus sighed and pushed aside the letter he had started to pen. "Without the blood wards, not only would the boy be at risk but his family would be in danger as well. Who knows what the remaining Dark factions would do if they knew about the boy's family?"

Minerva just glared at him for a few agonizing minutes. "Your actions may have destroyed the relationship between Hogwarts and the merpeople of the Black Lake entirely, Albus. Think of what that could mean. If we don't have a relationship with them, then the safety of our students is put in peril. We need a plan by September first."

"Whatever for?" Albus asked, genuinely shocked by Minerva's words. He couldn't possibly been responsible for all that? Besides, the merpeople knew to leave the students well enough alone so there really shouldn't be a problem there.