Chapter Text
Luna considered her friend as they ate supper. She knew many thought that she was insane because they couldn't see what she could see. She also knew that exposing the Bumblebee and nudging Harry towards the Dark faction could only help her friend. In another reality, time, and place Harry would have kept his temper with Umbitch while an insane Dark Lord plotted his death. That world would have led toward the death of thousands of their small community and would have eventually caused the revelation of magic to greedy men across the globe. Right now though everything had shifted. Her friend needed her to make sure his story was known.
"Master Goblin, don't you think the healers should check Harry again? To put everyone's mind at rest since the Dark Lord took him away with him yesterday?" Luna asked airily as dinner was cleared away. Once again the little ball that acted as a remote magical microphone had made its way out of her pocket and on to the table to pick up every word spoken and broadcast it to the rest of their world. "After all if we get his identity and health checked first then no one can argue that Harry isn't acting under his own choice or argue anything really based on his health state."
"Acceptable. All present will be examined fully for health and their identity verified to prevent legal issues," the goblin agreed.
"I don't see why that would be necessary," Dumbledore protested. His idea of Harry being under dark control meant to be presented later would be useless with such a check.
"I would really rather not," Harry put in hastily as he saw people starting to agree with the goblin. "I have no problem checking who I am and that I'm not under anyone's control. If... if its not announced then I don't mind as much. I hate landing in the hospital wing."
Severus rolled his eyes and hit Harry in the back of the head with a set of diagnostic spells. He casually handed the results over to the goblin healer who had quickly arrived once the idea was broached. A quick glance through the results and a goblin spell to check his identity cleared Harry first before the goblin healer moved on to the next person until everyone was checked and cleared.
"They are clean of anything that doesn't hide from a deep scan," the goblin healer announced. She took a seat off to one side to go over the collected results more thoroughly while they moved on to deal with the any other issues.
"That was a bit anti-climatic," Harry murmured under his breath only to get laughed at by Nagini who was still resting protectively at his feet.
"Harry would you tell us about what happened to Professor Quirrell in your first year? And your other adventures? That is if you don't want to speak about your health and home life?" Luna asked airily. Only the lead goblin representative, Snape, and the Dark Lord noticed the sharp glint that quickly disappeared from her gaze. Dumbledore was too preoccupied with trying to copy the health reports unnoticed to pay attention to the possible implications of her question.
Harry considered his friend warily and reluctantly admitted to himself, if no one else, that addressing his yearly "adventures" and their weirdness was probably the better option. He just knew that being forced to sort out the normality of the Dursleys was going to be an utter nightmare that he wasn't going to be able to get out of. He figured that it was best to try and put it off as long as possible.
"Before we start on that I want it clear that I was insane from sensory deprivation. Not having a proper body for extended periods puts a strain on the mind. The issue has since been corrected," Tom put in quickly. He did not want to be judged as completely unstable over his actions without a body.
"Noted," the goblin representative acknowledged, making a literal note on a piece of parchment in front of him. The goblin healer came back over to him and did another couple of scans on him which the Dark Lord manfully ignored.
"What made you three try the forbidden corridor?" Severus asked carefully. He figured that Harry would have an easier time answering questions instead of trying to tell it without some sort of prompting. Harry giving him a half wary, half grateful look as the man finally took a seat next to him.
"Mostly it was because we figured out what Dumbledore hid there. When we tried to warn Professor McGonagall that a Professor, we thought it was you originally, had gone out of their way to figure out how to get past all of the defenses she told us to go play. I admit that having eleven year olds tell you that one of the adults you've worked with all year if not longer was going to steal something important wasn't really believable. When we told her we were sure we were right and we were sort of desperate because we had figured out how important the stone could probably be," Harry admitted. He was focusing on telling Snape the story and didn't see when Dumbledore was ruthlessly silenced. As far as Harry was making himself be concerned about his only audience was the Potions Professor. "We all thought Dumbledore was barmy to keep it at the school and then tell everyone not to go there or risk dying. Especially, since we landed in the corridor completely by accident the first time. It was always sort of strange to me that so many of the pieces we needed to get past the defenses were just there... except the mirror. Ron and I were the ones who found it but he didn't keep coming back to it until Dumbledore moved it. Anyway, Ron and Hermione couldn't make it through all of them and we decided that I had to be the one to make it to the end if possible."
"Well that certainly explains why they weren't with you when you came upon Quirrell and I that day," Tom mused, internally wincing at what was about to be discussed. He had not presented himself well during that confrontation.
"Tom and I talked, Quirrell threatened me. Tom was insane and ordered Quirrell to kill me when I wouldn't give him the stone after the mirror dropped it in my pocket without a by your leave. Quirrell touched me and then started burning. I saw that and... used what was to hand. I still sometimes have nightmares about him turning to charcoal then ash under my hands," Harry admitted with a shiver.
"What did the Headmaster tell you was the cause of that, I wonder?" Tom mused aloud.
"Dumbledore told me after I woke up in the hospital wing that it was mum's love that did it, that I wasn't a killer," Harry said, going carefully blank. He mentally forced the terror from both memories and nightmares away from him as he fought himself to tell the tale of his first kill.
"Quick question, the dragon Draco complained about you moving in first year?" Severus asked keenly. His mind was busy with the implications of what Harry had already told them but the Dragon incident had always rather puzzled him.
Harry latched on to the new subject with visible relief.
"Oh, that. Tom had tricked Hagrid into a card game to learn about Fluffy, his Cerberus, and lost a dragon egg to Hagrid even if he did get to know what he wanted from talking to Hagrid. You have to ask him how he even got a dragon egg and why he let Hagrid actually have it. Hagrid hatched it and tried to raise it in his wooden hut. We had one hell of a time talking him into sending the dragon to a sanctuary with actual dragon handlers, away from crunchy students to munch. Ron still got bit in the hand though," Harry admitted sheepishly. "Draco saw us at the hatching and decided to stalk us when we were getting the baby dragon out of the school. He got us caught after and I lost my father's cloak during that trip with the dragon but it turned up again suddenly on my bed with a note not to loose it again."
"Firstly, in my defense, I was an insane wraith and secondly, I wasn't aware that the egg was actually viable," Tom defended himself from the incredulous looks Harry's little story earned him.
"Time for a tea break I think," Luna said airily. Taking the hint everyone quickly agreed. They had a lot to think about and it hadn't even been an hour yet since the start of the day's meeting.