The Contract

Chapter 19

"Harry?" Corvus immediately gave the pale soon-to-be teenager his entire attention. He didn't see the byplay between Millicent Flint or Flitwick. Didn't see the healer making silent gestures for Flitwick to leave, to let them have the two their privacy.

Flitwick gave one last lingering look at Corvus and Harry, but he knew his Ravenclaw was in safe hands. He doubted very much it was all an elaborate manipulation, people often forgot he was there or saw things from a different perspective due to his height. In other words he could clearly see Corvus face while a normal statured wizard might not have. Being underestimated and absent-mindedly forgotten had its perks. Especially when he was participating in the duelling championship tournament.

"Harry?" Corvus called out once more, his voice strong as always, with just a hint of concern that most people would have overlooked as arrogance or annoyance. "Millicent?" now his voice was changing, anger was warring with concern over his ignorance on what was happening and what was wrong with Harry. He was so pale, paler than he'd been upon their initial meeting, and that was saying something considering they'd met up in Azkaban prison after he'd passed out through the effects the dementors had. Not that he'd been aware of that at the time, which made the way he conducted himself that day even more impressive in Corvus' book.

"It's exhaustion, he's merely sleeping, his body...it's been through a strain he hasn't felt since he begun healing." Millicent explained, a gleam of resigned sadness in her voice. It always seemed to happen to Harry for some reason. "I've saved a copy of the spells used in the past twenty-four hours, I'm sure you want one?" knowing Corvus well enough to know he definitely did indeed.

"How far has this put back his recovery?" Corvus demanded to know, gritting his teeth in sheer bloody anger at what had happened. his hand unconsciously hovering over Harry's face, tucking in a strand of loose hair, eyeing all the changes he could see in the few months since he'd seen him last. Longer hair, and his face wasn't quite so gaunt, steadily putting on much needed weight. He still had a long way to go, of course, but for now he was satisfied.

He'd always known it would be a long arduous task getting Harry back to normal.

"Only Harry will be able to tell us that when he goes through his routine," Millicent replied after a moments hesitation. The anger still on Corvus' face was...terrifying even though she knew it wasn't directed at her, Merlin help Dumbledore for Corvus was not going to take pity on the wizard. Not that she wanted him to.

"Very well," Corvus bit out, some of his anger had drained just hearing Harry calling out to him in his delirium. The child trusted him, wanted him to be there when he was at his most vulnerable. That spoke of a deep seated trust he hadn't expected to ever get from the child after all he'd been through.

"I just don't understand why Dumbledore would do such a thing, it was an awful risk to take with his life," Millicent muttered, shaking her head exasperated and angered by Dumbledore's actions. It would do nothing, prove nothing, forcing Harry to see his deepest desires, except enthral him.

"To control someone it's much easier to emotionally break them," Corvus bit out, sounding feral. "Harry hasn't fallen in line with what Dumbledore expected him to be despite his obvious attempts. So, he instead forced the child to gaze upon something his heart wanted but wouldn't get. Then rescue him, tell him stories about his parents, subtly manipulating him to try and be more like them." the Potters, who had been so stuck in Dumbledore's pocket as to be dangerous and quite frankly disgusting. What worries Corvus was such an attempt may very well have worked.

"Assuming did see his parents in the mirror," Millicent pointed out, "He's eleven years old, he might have seen himself as what he wishes to be when he grows up, the family he desires. Harry has a very good head on his shoulders and knows his parents are lost to him. Unfortunately, you cannot miss what you cannot remember at the end of the day."