8 The Cost of Silence

A week passed since the confrontation in transfiguration and Harry still hadn't returned to her class. The rumors going around were pretty accurate in their description of the confrontation and it made a lot of people stop to think. With the Gryffindors, the loss of their unbeatable seeker got their attention.

His claim to no longer care or support Gryffindor was a slap in the face until they realized that they had basically done the same to him. The fact that they had pushed their most famous housemate into considering leaving his magic and the magical world behind was shocking and if it got out that they were the cause of it, their futures would be over before they even began as happened with all true traitors.

As normal with any events or drama centered on the other houses, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw just sat back and watched. The only house that saw the situation as a positive was the Slytherins. The loss of the boy-who-lived would be a huge boon for the pureblood cause.

The loss of Harry as a seeker meant that their house stood a much better chance in the future in the Quidditch cup. They also knew that if Gryffindor imploded, they would no longer be seen as the social pariahs any longer by the other houses. It was even suggested in the common room that Slytherin move to openly support Harry. It was quickly shot down but it did give some the idea that an alliance with the outcast Gryffindor would be very beneficial and may even add to the problems that house was already having.

Albus was mortified that Harry thought things were so bad that he would consider the loss of his magic a good thing but as always, he 'knew' that if he could just talk to the boy, he could make him see reason but he was not about to antagonize Harry any further by making any more attempts. He thought 'Yes, that is a good plan. I'll let him come to me.'

It never crossed his mind that Harry was at the point where he would give up his magic before ever seeking Albus' counsel again. In the end, Albus asked the staff to back off to avoid another altercation with Harry so that they were leaving him alone for the moment. Albus may be a manipulative old fool but he wasn't stupid. Stupid would be provoking Harry into doing as he said and then they eyes of the whole Wizarding world would be on Hogwarts and not in a good way.

Harry's talks with Cedric and his 'girlfriend' led to one conclusion, what ever was going on, they needed him a whole lot more than he needed them. His argument with Professor McGonagall had even earned him a decent amount of respect as no one had ever stood up to and then shut down the transfiguration professor since everyone was afraid of her Scottish temper.

During the next week, the twins along Ginny tried to approach him and apologize but all they got in response was Harry holding up his hand and saying "I don't want to hear it" and walking away. The twins were known for their tenaciousness and again approached him the nest day. When they tried to apologize, he responded but not as they were hoping.

He simply asked "Where was your support when all of this started? Where were you when Ron was calling me all those names and turning the whole school against me?"

Fred said "Harry?"

He growled out "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Granger and that idiot brother of yours. You've lost my respect and trust and like Granger, you just stood there and said nothing. Since I have become as outcast, I have come to realize I don't need any of you and if you continue to harass me, I may just find it necessary to take steps to ensure that you never bother me again."

George smirked "And what may that be little Harrikins?"

Harry sneered at them and said "You are aware that at least one member of your family owes me a life debt."

The twins and Ginny paled at what he said and immediately backed off. That was the last time they directly approached him. For them, it was clear how much they had hurt Harry by their inaction. Ever since he came to Hogwarts and into their lives, they had considered him a little brother and now saw how deeply it affected Harry and also how much it had changed him. The old Harry would never have made such a threat but the new Harry along with the hard look in his eyes made them aware that he was more than capable of it now. Ginny stood there in shock the whole time and cried herself to sleep for days thanks to her stupidity. Her dream of one day marrying Harry had gone up in smoke and she had no one to blame but herself for not standing up for Harry as she knew he deserved.

The thoughts going through most of his former friends' minds were of how badly they had treated Harry and how much they owed him. They followed the orders given to them by their parents and the headmaster and now were going to pay the price for their disloyalty. As Hermione sat and thought about her actions, she realized that if something were to happen now, she couldn't count on Harry to come and rescue her and she cried herself to sleep that night for the friendship she had walked away from.

****

One evening, Albus decided to have a meeting for some of the adults in Harry's life in an attempt in trying to find a way to reach him. Minerva started off by saying "We wouldn't be in this situation in the first place you hadn't been playing your games and after the argument in my class last week, he won't give me the time of day. I managed to catch him out in a corridor the other day and informed him I had tournament news for him."

"When I told him of the Yule Ball, he just nodded at me and turned to walk away without saying a word. When I asked him who he would ask to be his date, he replied he wouldn't have one. I told him it would be an embarrassment to the school if he showed up without a date and he replied with the school had embarrassed him so why shouldn't he return the favor."

Albus sighed "Inform Miss Granger that she is on standby to be Mr. Potter's date for the ball."

Sirius spoke up "I don't think that's such a good idea. I've seen the look in his eyes before and it doesn't bode well for anyone. It's best just to leave him alone for now."

Albus said "Even James forgave after a while."

Without the normal sneer, Severus said "He wasn't speaking of James. The look in his eyes is all Lily. I've seen that look before and if you keep pushing, you'll have something worse than Voldemort to deal with."

Albus glanced over and saw Sirius and Remus nodding in agreement. Albus looked horrified and turned to Sirius "Do you think you can talk to him?"

Remus snorted as Sirius replied "Um…no. The last letter I sent him returned unopened and when I took it off the owl, it exploded in my face. No, I'm sorry Albus but you ordering me to not write to him have cost me any trust I had with him along with any type of relationship. I doubt he would even accept my friendship."

"Remus?"

He was shaking his head. "The last time I saw him; he pulled out a silver knife and told me it would only take a scratch. He also bluntly told me that Sirius and I had betrayed both him and his parents. After that I backed off immediately."

Albus said "He also won't give me the time of day or even look in my direction at this time. I was hoping he would turn to me and I could talk him through everything."

Severus actually snorted "You mean put a compulsion charm on him to make him behave."

Albus glared at him. "That will be enough of that talk Severus. Arthur, he likes you. Maybe you could talk with him."

Arthur nodded his head. "I would be glad to try but he is not on good terms with the rest of my family at the moment and quite frankly I don't blame him. That's one of the reasons I came to this meeting so that after we are done, I could have a little discussion with them about this whole mess."

Severus said "At least Molly hasn't sent him one of her usual howlers this time."

Arthur turned to look at his wife and asked "Why would he say something like that?"

Molly paled and shot a glance at Albus. She said "Arthur dear, let's just let them work it out for themselves. They are only kids after all."

Arthur replied "I suppose we could give it until Christmas but if nothing is resolved by then, I suppose I will have to remind them that House Weasley owes Harry a debt we can never repay and I won't stand for his mistreatment. Harry's a fine young man but if they keep pushing, I fear what may happen. And I haven't forgotten that howler comment. We will speak on it when we got home."

Albus looked more worried "How do we get him back under control?"

Sirius snorted as Snape replied "I don't think control is an option anymore. You pushed too far and now you'll have to live with the consequences. With the power he showed in the first task, I'd bet that he's broken your bindings even if he doesn't realize it yet."

Sirius asked "What bindings?"

With a glare at Severus he said "I had to place bindings on Harry when he was younger due to the accidental magic he performed during his time with his relatives."

Remus said "Accidental magic only really occurs during times of great distress or when his life is threatened. How many bouts of accidental magic occurred?"

Severus said "I think about twenty but I lose count."

Everyone glared at Albus as they got a picture of Harry's life they didn't want to hear.

Albus snapped "Severus, may I ask why you are aggravating the issue?"

"It's quite simple Headmaster. For the longest time, I only saw Harry as James' son. His actions lately are all Lily and I…I owe it to her. My attitude with him up to this point will probably cause him to never accept my help but I will no longer sit back and watch as he continues to get kicked while he's down." With a look in his eye that was pure Slytherin, he added "You just better hope he never goes to Gringotts or he will bury us all."

Minerva asked "What do you mean by that?"

Severus smirked. "Minerva, even I know the implications of a sword being summoned after lying untouched for a thousand years. Harry is the truest Gryffindor in your house and not only is he Godric's last blood descendent, the sword gives the conclusion that he has been chosen as Godric's magical heir as well."

Severus' comment caused Albus to make a note to himself to visit Gringotts the next day. They never heard the soft 'pop' as an invisible Dobby left the Headmaster's office.