Ch 11 pt 3

The Weasleys were dumbfounded, both at the revelation of what their daughter/sister had done and the accusations of incompetence levelled at the Headmaster. Dumbledore flushed, no one had given him such a dressing down since he was a student in this very institution. And he could say nothing to his defence. If he claimed he hadn't known, then he looked incompetent. If he admitted he knew it was a Basilisk, people would question his motives for both not helping Hagrid and pretending ignorance when the Chamber was reopened at Halloween. And that debacle, unlike this one involving Ginny, he could not sweep under a rug with a Wizard's Oath.

"I thought you knew," Gilderoy continued, "and were merely caught unaware at the creature's reappearance and that you were trying to capture it. If I had thought you didn't know I would have called the Ministry immediately and shut the school down on November 1st before the creature had a chance to slaughter hundreds of students." He shook his head in disbelief. "What did you hope to gain, putting the entire school at risk like that?" Unsaid in all that was his assumption that Dumbledore had allowed Hagrid to suffer all these years without a wand and under a cloud of suspicion — what kind of Leader of the Light would do that?

The Weasleys were staring at the Headmaster in horror and betrayal. Gilderoy had just destroyed their faith in the old Wizard. Never again would they trust his word.

Gilderoy knew that the only good for the Headmaster was that they were unable to tell others of his failings. And hiring Gilderoy Lockhart had to be one of his personally biggest mistakes. He had to be wondering how such an ineffectual and foppish fool could have turned out to be so smart and competent? Harry grinned broadly.

The Headmaster probably thought that now that Gilderoy had destroyed the diary that the Basilisk was locked away with no one to provide instructions. Things would return to normal, just as they had fifty years ago. Except this time there wasn't a new ghost added to the castle who could reveal what had happened.

Harry/Gilderoy took a deep breath. He didn't hate the Headmaster, he just couldn't believe some of the choices the old Wizard had managed to justify over the years. For supposedly one of the cleverest Wizards in generations, he was incredibly blind to the truth at times. He had forgotten his responsibility to the students in pursuit of a nebulous "greater good" that never seemed to materialize for the greater part of the Wizarding community. In fact, his meddling appeared to have been directly involved in creating the disaster that was Harry-future's past. Harry wondered at times who was the greater Dark Lord, Voldewhore or Dumbledore?

"Well," he said, "Now that that's sorted, you should know that your daughter really needs to see a professional Mind Healer, Mr. Weasley. She has had a truly foul Wizard living in her mind and body for months and making her do things that are, well, evil. She'll feel guilty, she'll be depressed, and who knows what sort of things that evil Wizard did or revealed to her that a child of her age should never know." Ginny had confessed to him well after leaving Hogwarts the fact that she had had nightmares for years, and occasionally strange and horrifying urges to hurt viciously people who offended her.

"Surely, Gilderoy, you exaggerate the girl's experience?" put in the Headmaster, falling back into his familiar well-meaning grandfather persona. All the Weasleys gave him a look of astonished disbelief that he could say such a thing.

Harry/Gilderoy, surprised, turned and looked at the Headmaster. "Albus, are you a professional Mind Healer? Because only a professional Mind Healer could possibly understand the damage a possession could do to a child."

The Headmaster tried to soften that harsh assessment, "Well, I am quite knowledgeable of the mind arts . . . ."

"But do you know more than someone who has fifty years of study doing nothing but studying and working with those whose minds have been damaged by spells and possessions?"

Dumbledore had to admit, "No, probably not."

"Then perhaps we should let a professional Mind Healer make that determination while you work on getting Hagrid a proper wand and allowing him to finish his education."

The Weasley parents shared a long look. Gilderoy could imagine what they were thinking, "how could they possibly afford such a Healer?"

He took a deep calming breath. "Headmaster, I'm not one to meddle in another's business," said the D.A.D.A. professor, "but I really think Hogwarts should take responsibility for the Mind Healer helping Miss Weasley. A solicitor could argue, quite effectively, I imagine, that it is Hogwarts' fault that this deadly Dark artefact wasn't discovered when it first crossed through Hogwarts' protective enchantments."

He continued, "After all, I told you last week I could detect a vile Dark Artefact being carried in the corridors of this school. And if I could detect it, why couldn't the school's protective enchantments?" And the unspoken accusation was 'If I could find it, why couldn't you?'

If looks could kill . . . but the Headmaster wasn't a Basilisk. He sighed and slowly nodded. "Yes, Professor Lockhart, you are correct. The school's protective enchantments should have detected that diary."

From the expression that fleeted across his face, Harry was positive the protective enchantments had detected the Dark Artefact and the Headmaster had just ignored it, as he had all the Dark Artefacts the Slytherin students smuggled into the school.

He turned to the Weasley parents, "Arthur, Molly, I will tell Madam Pomfrey to make the arrangements and have the Mind Healer meet with Miss Weasley in the Hospital Wing for as long as it is necessary, at Hogwarts' expense."

The Weasleys were profuse in their thanks at that "generous" offer. That they knew Lockhart had forced the Headmaster to that decision reinforced the feelings of betrayal they now felt towards the old Wizard. And knew that they would be a staunch supporter of the blonde-haired Wizard, it was the least they could do for his saving the life of their only daughter.