Harry Potter: Beneath The Skin

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 13: A Stressful Day

Harry was lying on a comfortable bed at the infirmary.

The healer that everyone calls Madam Pomfrey had examined him and found many cuts and bruises, as well as traces of having been hit with a Cruciatus Curse.

No wonder he felt this body so sore when he first woke up in it. He had first assumed that it was mostly because of the resurrection, but that was not the case.

Once his examination was concluded, he was told to rest, and he was very much fine with that.

He closed his eyes and rested his tired body, but his mind remained active as he refused to completely lower his guard.

Especially not when wizards like Albus Dumbledore were around. The memories he had of his interactions with the old man told him that he was not someone to be trusted.

Dumbledore pretended to be a pillar of light among the magical community, but Harry knew how to recognize darkness in people, and there was definitely a lot of it in that man.

As well as the other who always follows him… Severus Snape.

In any case, he didn't need any sleep to rest. He had learned long ago how to keep himself active day and night with just his magic and a few potions.

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While Harry was in the infirmary pretending to sleep, the Headmaster was having a serious conversation with his right-hand man.

"I'm telling you, the boy is lying!" Snape was pacing around the office to calm himself down.

"No… he was not." Dumbledore was sitting at his desk with a pensive expression. His mind was going over his short encounter with Harry when he returned to school.

"I looked into his mind… everything that occurred between the moment he arrived at that graveyard and when he woke up near Hogwarts is all blank."

"Could he have fooled your Legilimency somehow?" Snape asked, although he already knew the answer to that.

"With no training?... not a chance. I may not be the best at the mind arts, but I know what I'm doing," Dumbledore responded.

Snape grabbed onto his arm. "Urgg…"

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Is he calling for you again?"

"Y-yes… I will need to respond to his request. Otherwise, he will see me as a traitor."

Dumbledore nodded. "Then go. And be very careful, my friend. After all those years of being dead, we don't know how much his mind has deteriorated. He is likely much worse than the one we knew."

"I'm always careful. But what about the other boy...Diggory?" Snape asked.

"I believe I have a good idea of where this cemetery from Harry's memories is located. The Little Hangleton graveyard is the final resting place of the Riddle family. If Voldemort has used the ritual that I know, he would have needed the remnants of his family members—thus the need to use that place," Dumbledore explained.

"Headmaster, before I go, there is something I wanted to ask." Snape turned to look at the old wizard.

"What is it, my friend? You know you can ask me anything," Dumbledore said with his usual calm expression.

"Did you know there was going to be a trap in the last task?" Many things were going through Snape's mind right now. And some of the events leading to today didn't add up.

Like, for example, how did Dumbledore not realize that his old friend Moody was being impersonated by a Death Eater using Polyjuice?

"Oh… of course I didn't. I would never have allowed Harry to compete if I knew something like this would have happened." Dumbledore stood up from his chair. "Now is not the time for doubts. We both have much to do."

"Yes… you are right." Snape turned around and left the office, leaving Dumbledore alone.

The old Headmaster stood in the middle of his office while considering his next move.

A loud cry disturbed his thoughts.

"Fawkes…" He gave the phoenix a side glance. "I know you disapprove of my actions, but this is for the greater good. The prophecy must be completed and for that… Voldemort had to return. At least this way, I have some control over how he came back and when, instead of being surprised."

Fawkes gave another cry, obviously disagreeing with him. The phoenix was a creature of pure light and could immediately detect any malice that lay in someone's heart.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I will not be giving any excuses to you… I must leave now. I have much to do and little time to do it."

Just as he was walking past the gargoyle, he found Professor McGonagall walking towards him.

"Minerva? What are you doing here?"

"Albus, there you are. I needed to speak with you."

"Can we speak as we walk? I wanted to visit the infirmary," Dumbledore said.

"Harry Potter is sleeping. You won't get anything from him at the moment," McGonagall said.

"Actually, I intended to speak with Alastor. He is feeling better, I hope," Dumbledore responded.

"Albus, this is a giant mess… we have several Aurors entering the school. And the Ministry of Magic is on his way to Hogwarts. He wishes to speak with you about what happened during the task, as well as to take custody of the Death Eater who had been impersonating Alastor Moody,"

McGonagall said with a tone of deep concern.

"Everything is going to be fine, trust me… I will handle it."

McGonagall sighed. "Of course I trust you. You always know better, but… we still have a missing boy as well. His father is beyond worried at this point and I don't know what to tell him."

"About that, well…" Dumbledore stopped for a moment. "Tell him that we will find his son for sure." He avoided saying that the boy was likely dead at this point.

The two of them arrived at the infirmary and were welcomed by a stressed Madam Pomfrey.

"Albus, finally! The Minister is here, and he is not happy."

"What? Already? I just received the message," McGonagall said.

"Ah…" Dumbledore knew this was going to be difficult to manage. "Let's get this over with."

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