Harry Potter A New Sirius Black

"All we're asking for is your cooperation, Dumbledore!" Williamson said in a commanding voice, his temper barely held in check. "We want to question the boy, all right? We're not going to kill your precious savior, even though it looks very much like he killed one of your students."

"And as we have said, Auror Williamson," snapped Professor McGonagall, "you are wrong. You instantly accuse Harry of such a crime when you have no proof! You have a lot of nerve!"

"Be reasonable, Professor," said one of the Aurors Susan didn't recognize. His voice was softer and calmer, but held no less authority. "Harry Potter disappears from the school grounds with young Cedric Diggory, and they disappear for a long period of time. When they return, Diggory is dead. There are no other witnesses, and Potter's claims are completely ridiculous. You-Know-Who has been dead for over thirteen years. It's preposterous to even entertain the notion he has returned."

"That's rubbish," Ron snarled, unable to contain himself. The Hogwarts staff and Aurors turned their heads, and saw the five students standing amongst them. "Harry's telling the truth, and you just don't want to believe it. You'd rather think a fourteen-year-old somehow made an illegal Portkey and took Diggory off the grounds, murdered him, and then brought his body back and claimed You-Know-Who did it? How delusional are you lot?"

"Excuse me, young man, but mind your manners. How dare you speak to us like that!" spat Reynolds angrily, clenching his fists.

"I'll talk to you how I like when you accuse my best friend of murder without knowing a bloody thing about it!" Ron hissed back, equally enraged.

"Now, everyone, let's calm down," placated Dumbledore, and Susan couldn't help but scowl. After the events of the past four years, her trust in the Headmaster had waned enormously. To hell with him trying to be the peacemaker now. Hannah, sensing Susan's thoughts, put a calming hand on her arm, though the look on her face conveyed the same feelings.

The other Auror Susan didn't know cleared his throat. "We are going around in circles here," he said, his voice businesslike. "All we're asking is that you take us to the boy. We only want to ask him a few questions."

Flitwick's expression was hard as he stared the four Aurors down. "I'd like to know who sent you," he said tersely. "Who exactly asked you to come here?"

"Oh, it was a colleague of yours who only has the school's best interests at heart," said Williamson, sneering at the tiny man. "Now, where is the boy?"

Susan watched as the staff stared horrified at each other. They all shook their heads, indicating that no, it had not been any of them. Susan's mind flew through her and Hannah's meeting in the staff room; who could have communicated with the Aurors? She remembered that both Vector and Sinistra had not been very sympathetic when listening to the girls. Could it have been one of them? Did a Hogwarts teacher truly think Harry capable of murder? Were they just as blind as some of the students?

"No!" gasped Hermione. "You mean one of the teachers thinks Harry murdered Cedric, too?"

"That's quite enough talk! You're not going to dodge the subject any further!" Reynolds exclaimed. Without warning, his wand came up, pointing at the Hogwarts staff. The other three Aurors followed his lead. "Tell us where the boy is, or there will be consequences," he said furiously.

"Merlin, who does the Ministry hire as Aurors these days?" Ginny said viciously, glaring at them with her hands on her hips. "Are they all this unreasonable?"

"Watch your mouth, young lady," snapped Reynolds. Turning to the staff, he continued in a low and dangerous voice, "I will ask you again. Where. Is. The. Boy?"

And then Ron stepped forward, his self-control snapping entirely as he screamed the truth right in their faces before anyone could warn him to think. "He's gone into hiding, that's where he is! So he'd be safe from you lot!"

The temperature in the entrance hall seemed to plummet at that moment. Susan and Hannah stared at one another, the same thought crossing their mind. Was that smart for Ron to have admitted that? She turned her head to look at Hermione and Ginny, and saw that they were looking at Ron with horror and concern.

Susan knew why Ron had done it. He just wanted the Aurors to leave his best friend alone, and he was willing to do anything for that to happen, even put himself in the line of fire. The way these Aurors were acting sickened her; she remembered meeting others who were actually reasonable, nice, good people. Why did it have to be these four who showed up? Things couldn't possibly get any worse, could they?

All four Aurors looked thunderous at this proclamation. "Is the young man telling the truth?" Williamson demanded, his face brick red. Turning burning eyes on the staff, he added, "Is one of you responsible for this? Is one of you covering for the boy?"

The staff stood straight and tall, all shaking their heads in denial. Dumbledore walked straight over to the Aurors, his posture ramrod straight, as if he was preparing for battle. "No one is covering up for the young man," he said softly, though his eyes were blue chips of ice. "He has done nothing wrong, and Mr. Weasley is indeed telling the truth. I have taken it upon myself to take Harry somewhere safe. He is being looked after by someone I trust implicitly. Lord Voldemort has returned; you must face the truth. The boy has been through a terrible, traumatic ordeal, and he needs to heal."

From the corner of her eye, Susan saw Ron, Hermione, and Ginny exchange startled looks. She was glad none of the Aurors noticed; the looks were extremely easy to read. Their eyes said, plain as day, that Dumbledore was not the one who had taken Harry, but was taking responsibility for it in order to not get any of his staff members in trouble.

"Aha!" said Reynolds, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. "So you admit it, do you, Dumbledore? Mind telling us where he is, and who is hiding him?"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Sam," said Dumbledore, his penetrating gaze boring into the Auror. Reynolds's face dropped for a moment, as if he were back to being a student and he was being scolded for wrongdoing by his Headmaster. But after a second, he shook it off and glared at the man. "In that case," he sneered, "we're going to have to take you into custody. I've never trusted you, Dumbledore. There's been a lot that's happened in this school over the past few years that's never sat well with me. And it seems like you have a lot to answer for."

"NO!" Ron cried, attempting to step forward and block the Aurors from coming any closer to Dumbledore. Hermione and Ginny grabbed his arms, holding him back. "You can't take him into custody! He hasn't done anything!" Ron continued to shout.

"Last time I checked, aiding and abetting a suspected murderer was considered a crime, Mr. Weasley," sneered Williamson.

Dumbledore, however, didn't look at all worried. What does he have up his sleeve? Susan thought as he turned to look at Ron, smiling reassuringly at him, Hermione, Ginny, Hannah, and Susan. "Do not worry yourselves," he said gently. "It will be all right." Turning back to the Aurors, he looked for all the world like he was only going out for a walk in Hogsmeade and would be back at the castle momentarily. "Do your worst," he told them, putting his hands in the air. Instantly, he was put under the Incarcarous spell. Ropes bound his hands, but the old man just continued to smile. "Lord Voldemort has returned," he said, strong and sure. "Take me into custody and ask your questions. That will not stop the truth from coming out."

"Albus!" cried Professor McGonagall, panic in her voice. "What are you doing?"

But Dumbledore didn't answer her question. He only said, "Take care of the school, Minerva. That is your responsibility right now. Do not worry about me."

Professor McGonagall looked as though she wanted to do nothing more than disobey. But then Hermione burst into tears, and that seemed to remind her that there were indeed students who needed to be taken care of. It was plain to see that as much as she disagreed with Dumbledore's actions of late, the thought of him being questioned at the Ministry scared the professor.

But as the Aurors frog-marched Dumbledore out of Hogwarts, she just watched in numb disbelief, as did the other staff members. Neither Flitwick nor Sprout tried to intervene. Moments later, the front door of Hogwarts closed - Dumbledore and the Aurors were gone.

And hours later, as Susan tossed and turned in bed, she couldn't stop replaying that scene in her mind. What in Merlin's name was Dumbledore's plan? Had his quick mind concocted a way to get out of this?

The whole school had been abuzz with the news that Dumbledore was gone, and that Harry was in hiding. The reactions of some of the students didn't bear thinking about. Some, like Jeff, were just relieved Harry had been taken off the premises, and couldn't care less what happened to Dumbledore. The Headmaster could stay away until all the Death Eaters went to Azkaban, for all he cared. Others, like Zach and Malcolm, wouldn't shut up about the supposition that the Leader of the Light, Defeater of Grindelwald, and Beloved Fighter Against Voldemort, was not helping to bring a murderer to justice and was instead hiding him.

Susan was just sick of all of it. After the scene in the entrance hall, she and Hannah had run back to Hufflepuff House and straight up to their dormitory, spending much of the rest of the day comforting one another and trying to figure out what had happened. They hoped Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were okay - they'd seen Professor McGonagall quietly talking to them as they'd left the scene.

As dawn grew closer, Susan truly couldn't predict what would happen next. All she knew was that she hoped, wherever Harry was, that he would be given time to heal. That poor boy had been through too much, and he needed a lot of care. Dumbledore ... she honestly didn't know what to make of him. The fact that he had given himself over to the Ministry and lied that it was him who had hidden Harry in order to protect everyone else was commendable, but she couldn't help but think that there must be something in it for him. Was he really the shining beacon of light that so many thought him to be?

She sighed and rolled over again, praying that sleep would take her away from her racing thoughts, but it continued to elude her. Unable to stop them, tears ran down her face as she thought of all that had happened, and everything that was still to come. "Cedric," she whispered into the room. "Cedric, I miss you. I need you. Merlin, what's going to happen now?"

And the most devastating thing of all, Susan knew, was that Cedric wouldn't answer.

He wouldn't answer ever again.

.....

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