Harry Potter and the Ties that Bind

Chapter 16

Albus Albus burst into the hospital wing, startling Madame Pomfrey, who was standing near one of the beds.

"Professor Dumbledore," she said, her tone scolding. "Don't just barge in here like that. What would you have done if I was performing complicated healing magic on a patient?"

"My apologies, Poppy," Albus apologized, though his attention was focused mostly on the bed. "I do not believe that I am quite in my right mind at the moment." He walked up to the bed, upon which there lay a familiar boy with messy black hair and a thunderbolt scar. "How is he?"

"He is mostly fine, however, had Professor Lupin been even a second later, then Harry would be a body without a soul right now."

Dumbledore quelled the anger he felt. There was no sense in allowing his mind to become clouded. He needed to remain calm, to think about the situation logically, and to make the right choice—not the easy choice.

As his mind became unfogged, Albus realized that there was someone else within the room aside from him and Minerva, who'd followed closely behind him.

"Remus—or should I say, Professor Lupin," Albus greeted the man with a smile, extending his hand. "I wish the circumstances of our meeting were different, but thank you for coming."

"You and I are in the same boat, I'm afraid." Remus took Albus' hand a shook it firmly. "Thank you for having me." The slight smile that he wore left as his eyes strayed to Harry. "I still can't believe that Harry was attacked by dementors."

"It is possible that the dementors sensed Sirius Black's magic on him," Albus theorized. "As I told you in my letters, Sirius Black apparently found Harry during the summer, and they both vanished. If they have been with each other all this time, then it is likely that Harry is under his control through the use of charms. He might even be imperiused."

"I hate to destroy your theories, but I'm afraid that there are no signs of Mr. Potter being placed under any spells, nor does he appear to be under the effects of a potion," Madam Pomfrey informed them. "I've already done every standard examination spell, and even a few of the not-so-standard. He is as clean as they come."

Albus frowned. "You mean he's not been influenced at all?"

"Not one bit."

The frown deepened. The mere fact that Harry was alive was incredible. He would've thought that Sirius would want to finish the job that he started over a decade ago and end the Potter line. When that hadn't come to pass, and the monitors that let him know if Harry was alive or not remained active, he'd assumed that Harry was going to be used for something nefarious; he'd been anticipating it.

And now Madam Pomfrey was telling him that Harry was not under Black's control.

I am missing something.

There was a larger picture that he wasn't seeing, a piece to the puzzle that he didn't have. Albus glanced at Harry again. The boy lay there, still, unmoving. Were it not for his shallow breaths, Albus would have mistaken him for a corpse. Did he have the final piece that would help him understand this situation?

"Albus?" McGonagall asked behind him, her voice uncertain.

"Let's allow young Harry to get his rest," Albus said at last. "Professor Lupin, Minerva, if you two would follow me. There are many young children who're waiting to be sorted, and I am sure that the returning students are ravenous by now."

Much as he would've liked to stay and wait until Harry was awake, he had other obligations.

With nothing left to do here, Albus Dumbledore left the hospital wing with Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin in tow.